Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic
by KLCtheBookWorm
Summary: Post-series. Away from the familiar O.Z., the runaway Princess and the Tin Man join Captain Betsy "Blood-rage" Bobbins' quest and cross swords with sullen pirates, the navy out to stop Bobbins, and legendary evil lurking in the Nonestic Ocean.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Tin Man_ and I make no money off this work.

The characters DG, Wyatt Cain, Glitch, Raw, Longcoats, Jeb Cain, Azkadellia, Zero, Queen Galinda, Ahamo, Kalm, Betsy Bobbins, Hank Jenkins, Inge Spencer, Roquat the Nome King, Kaliko, Dorothy Gale, and Ozma as used in this novel come from _Tin Man_ and L. Frank Baum's classic _Wizard of Oz_ series.

The characters Sprite, Hodges, Nick Pyrite, Thomas Slate, Prince Aedan of Aurissau, Quincy, Mrs. McGrath, The Shaman, Dani, Commander Neptunite, Corporal Ryan Carroll, Miriam Jason, Honorea, Lord Langwidere of Ev, Malachite Granite, Treasure Granite, and the crew of the _You and What Navy?_ were created for my _Tin Man_ fanfics. Please don't use them in your stories. But feel free to draw them and send me a copy.

The lyrics from "One Year of Love" by Queen, "Message in a Bottle" by Sting, "Into the West" by Annie Lennox, and the "Pirates Song" by Disney are used without permission.

The songs "Queen of Argyle," "Dark Lady," "Johnny Jump Up," "Haul on the Bowline," "Roll the Old Chariot Along," "Drunken Sailor," "Fire Maringo," "Whiskey in the Jar," and "Leave Her Johnny" are traditional sea shanties in public domain. But the audio files are the Bedlam Bards and the Bilge Pumps versions.

This story contains cussing, graphic depictions of violence, drinking of alcoholic beverages, and sexual situations. If you're not mature enough to handle it, go read something else.

This story takes after _Tin Man: What Memories Can Bring_ and the _Tin Man_ miniseries.

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**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter One**

Wyatt Cain cantered through the gates into the Royal Palace's compound. The Royal Army hadn't finished renovating the former Longcoat headquarters, but the Palace next to the barracks gleamed in the suns. He wondered which tower housed DG before shaking his head. A lowly Tin Man--even if he was a hero of the realm--shouldn't be concerned about such matters. He cast one more glare at the Palace before stopping his horse in front of the guard on duty. He tilted his fedora as he looked down at the uniformed young man. "Commander Wyatt Cain to see Captain Cain."

The guard saluted. "Sorry, sir, he's not in."

Of course Jeb had his own duties. "Just tell him I'm in Central City early and I'll be back after I get lodgings." The summons to the ball celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of the Eclipse promised guest rooms in the Palace, but Cain still had his pride. Then he had to survive the ball, survive seeing her again happy without him, before escaping to his post in the Great Kells.

"Sir, I don't know when I can deliver that message." The guard jerked his head at the Palace doors. "He got summoned to the Palace early this morning. The Royal Family was in a snit."

Cain felt his insides go very still; something was off about this whole situation. "You haven't been stationed here long, have you? First thing to learn is the Royals are always in a snit about something." Cain turned the horse's head.

The guard grabbed the bridle. "Sir, it was something about the youngest Princess. They probably need your help."

Cain glared at the soldier but the young man didn't release the bridle. He wasn't in the mood to scold DG into doing whatever they wanted her to do now. He dismounted with a sigh. Hell, he was annoyed if supporting DG's mayhem sounded good. But why call Jeb in? He had hoped Jeb had been more discreet than his old man had been, and icy fear spiked inside him that Jeb hadn't. He pictured a couple of young lovebirds in tears and rage melted the fear. If she was happy and safe, why did they feel compelled to mess with it? He strode across the parade grounds between the two buildings.

The doors opened into the long main hall, cool and dim compared to the suns lit outside. He had convinced the guard that yes, he was Commander Wyatt Cain, Savior of the O.Z., when a familiar but panicked voice called out, "Cain, is she with you?" Glitch stopped his run before colliding with Cain and the guard.

"Hello, Zipperhead, nice to see you again too. Now who is supposed to be with me?"

"My sister," Princess Azkadellia skidded to a stop and leaned against Glitch.

Cain felt his stomach knot. _Great Gale, she shouldn't still have this affect on me, not with knowing she has moved on._ "I haven't had any contact with Princess DG for nearly an annual."

"That settles it. She has bolted."

"We still don't know" Glitch began.

Azkadellia stomped her foot. "She found a way out and she didn't take me!"

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Cain ignored how icy the knot in his stomach turned.

"Can't say that I blame her for bolting. Not listening to Princesses is becoming an art form around here." Azkadellia grabbed and dragged Cain down the hall. "I hope they taught you more than just how to take a bullet for the Mystic Man in Tin Man training." They climbed a set of private stairs with Glitch bringing up the rear. "Though on the bright side, maybe all this will knock Mother off her smug little dais."

"She could make you marry Prince Aedan," Glitch said.

"He won't have me. I told him I still remembered the Sorceress' trick of sucking out souls."

"Do you?" Cain's eyes widened at the woman pulling him out of the staircase and into a hallway.

"No, but his Highness doesn't know that and decided DG was the safer conquest."

"Which just proves how mentally unfit the man is to ever consider siring issue for the House of Gale."

Cain looked over his shoulder. "DG's getting married?"

"No," the Princess and Royal Advisor answered in unison, and Glitch continued. "The Queen wants an alliance with Aurissau. Prince Aedan wants a wife."

"DG laughed and offered to put out a classified ad for him." Azkadellia chuckled. "Then she wanted to help Ambrose invent something called internet dating to help Aedan."

"The Queen didn't find DG's ideas humorous or helpful. I don't know who was more livid: the Queen because DG wouldn't obey or DG because the Queen wanted to marry her to that asinine imbecile."

Cain turned his attention back to Azkadellia. "DG ran away to get out of this arranged marriage?"

"There is no arranged marriage, Commander Cain. No member of the Royal House can be married without consent. And DG was not consenting to marry that toad." Azkadellia stopped in the gray-marbled hall and dropped Cain's arm when the Consort turned from a set of doors. "Father! I thought you were still with Mother."

Ahamo met them with a wry smile. "I wasn't being helpful, insisting her baby girl is old enough and expects to do what she pleases."

"The O.Z. isn't safe enough for DG to do as she pleases!" Glitch exclaimed.

"And that's a valid excuse to keep her locked up, Ambrose? Since Galinda isn't listening, I thought I'd try playing Sam Spade. But you found Commander Cain, so I'll hand things over to the professionals." Ahamo nodded at the former Tin Man.

Cain's lips twitched as he returned the nod. It gave him time to remember Academy lessons he hadn't used in annuals. "Who has been in DG's rooms?"

"The maid who reported her missing, and I went in to sense if any magic was used," Azkadellia answered. "There wasn't."

"Did you touch anything?" She shook her head.

"A couple of guards went in looking for DG or signs of a break in." Ahamo held his hands behind his back. "They reported finding neither."

Cain opened the door instead of commenting. The only traces that DG inhabited the sitting room were the painted canvases propped along all the walls. "She didn't have those out when I visited her last night before dinner." Azkadellia pressed her lips together.

A painting of a white cottage sheltered by green trees and surrounded by a golden grass field sat on the mantle of the room's fireplace. Circling the room toward the outer doors, he saw a painting of a blue-green house with red awnings extending over the doors and windows. A large sign saying "Hilltop Caf Home of Famous Pies" hung from its roof. A street scene that resembled Milltown made of brick and stone came next. The sequence changed to familiar Zone scenes: the campsite after rescuing Raw from the Papay, her nurture units standing on a dilapidated porch in Milltown, the broken Brick Route, the Crack across the O.Z., and the Fields of the Papay. The focus was on the healed tree laden with fruit, but the blurred figures standing under it were recognizable.

"Is that Kansas?" Azkadellia pointed to the cottage painting.

"Yes," Ahamo leaned in for a closer look.

"When did she find time to paint all of these?" Glitch tugged on one of his dreads as he turned in the center of the sitting room. "With how busy her schedule has been with lessons and meetings?"

Cain filed their responses in his mind as he continued around the display. He felt the pain radiating from the paintings leaning against her bedroom wall. A pair of delicate hands pushed out of green-tinted darkness on the first one. The next was a copy of the Crack but with a black-haired girl on her knees, stretching her arms to the group on the other side of the chasm. Cain's lips twitched. One of the indistinct figures wore a fedora and duster.

He passed the bedroom doors to look at the last three canvases. The ball from hell was propped up next to the doors into her bedroom. A black-haired girl huddled in the center of a mocking crowd and hid her face. Some of the inhuman figures surrounding her held pieces of blue cloth from her tattered ball gown and others held black locks from her ruined hairdo. The ringleader of the crowd reached for her. The man and woman in glittering clothes on the dais in the background looked at each other and ignored her plight.

A self-portrait came next. DG wore an ivory ball gown with her black hair piled on top of her head with a glittering tiara. She reached for the gold-framed, full-length mirror in front of her. Instead of DG the princess, the mirror showed DG the Slipper looking the same as she had when she released him from the iron suit.

The last one was an altered silhouette of the Central City Palace. The towers' heights had been shrunk so the center widest tower was the tallest in the painting. The round window near its roof had a girl beating against the glass, but you had to be almost nose to paint to see her. Stepping back, you could see that DG had turned the Palace into an iron suit. Cain clenched his fists. DG was supposed to be safe here with her family.

Glitch moved to his side and gasped. "Raw told me to keep a better eye on her."

Cain kept his fists at his sides. Knowing Glitch and Jeb were here to watch DG was the only thing that had made leaving bearable. "Why didn't you help her?"

His toffee-brown eyes glistened as he met Cain's glare. "Do you think you were the only one to get a speech, Tin Man? Do you think you were the only one forced to make a choice?"

"Choice? What choice?" Azkadellia touched Glitch's arm. "What are you talking about, Ambrose?"

Glitch patted her hand. "Ironically, the one who left of his own accord is the one she couldn't stop from returning. Any Viewers that came to the Palace, Raw and Kalm were in the group."

Azkadellia's brown eyes darted between Glitch and Cain's faces. "Tell me Mother did not order you from DG's side."

Cain turned away from her grip on Glitch. Ahamo stared at the mirror portrait. The Consort met his gaze, and seeing DG's compassionate blue eyes on a strange face startled him. "I should've given DG a broom to take to her mother." Ahamo clasped his hands behind his back again as he glanced away. "At least, I had Airofday's thugs as an excuse."

The man was her father; he had a right to keep her safe, but he didn't wake up from the nightmares of DG's screams and not being able to reach her. Cain opened the bedroom doors.

"How could you pick me over DG?" Azkadellia's voice dropped lower. "She saved you, after I."

"After the witch," Glitch said, "did those torturous things to me. We've been over that, Azkadee. And we'll cover why later. Right now is about DG."

Cain turned on the bedroom lights. The huge room had to be at least the size of his cabin. Two windows faced the lake Central City perched on. DG had set up a painting easel close to one and her desk was close enough to the second one to look out at the view while seated at it. The large bed almost as wide as the room to the left had been stripped to the bare mattress. The blankets and uncased pillows were stacked against the headboard. _And the Queen thinks a kidnapper stripped the bed while running off with DG?_

He headed to the closed wardrobe as the others trailed into the room. It was filled with frilly day dresses. "And she always complained she never had anything to wear." Azkadellia peered over his shoulder.

"Do you honestly see your sister wearing," Cain took in the lacy, pale yellow gown she wore, "never mind."

Her puzzled expression didn't clear. "But they're lovely. I don't know why she kept digging up trousers to wear all the time."

"And how many fights were there about that?" Cain moved to a cabinet next to the wardrobe. It opened up like a puzzle box, revealing an interior lined in red velvet and molded to hold more jewelry than it currently held. The diamond-covered tiara rested at the center.

"They finally compromised on dresses for state functions and meeting anyone who would be scandalized. Oh!" Her jaw dropped before she closed it audibly. "So that's what that conversation was about."

"Princess?"

She waved a slim hand at the jewelry display. "Last month, DG asked what jewelry was hers, opposed to family heirlooms given to her. She left the heirlooms."

"Comforting to know she won't run out of money soon." Ahamo looked over DG's art supplies.

"How long has the little sneak been planning this?" Azkadellia stomped her foot again, but the carpet muffled the effect.

"What ball did she wear the blue gown to?"

"The Winter Festival."

Glitch jerked forward. "Something else happened. DG left the ball early and Raw was livid. But neither of them would talk about it."

"At least six months, Azkadellia. That was the tipping point."

Cain moved to DG's spotless desk. The Consort continued flipping through the sketch book. "You're positive, your Highness?"

"DG didn't confide in her dear old dad, Commander. But she drew the most sketches for that painting and the mirror one." Ahamo held up the sketch book. "She wanted them perfect before she painted them."

Cain didn't understand art, though he didn't have anything against a picture of something he recognized. He had kept the sketch of their group DG had given him when they said goodbye. At least she had smiled in that drawing. If she had given him one of those paintings in the sitting room, his nightmares would have gotten worse.

No mementos rested on the surface of the desk, just a calendar and a gold clock. He frowned; it seemed too neat for DG. Had she cleaned up everything, leaving the paintings behind as the only proof she was even here? Were they her I've-ran-away note? He hoped not as he opened the top left drawer.

The drawer was empty except for a short stack of legal parchment with a time loop projector set on top like a paperweight. He set the projector on the desk while he thumbed through the legal papers. It was a contract, but it was hard to read its purpose underneath what DG had written in block letters of green ink that sparkled. "Princess, has magic been worked on these?"

Azkadellia stretched her arm around him and brushed against the parchment while she looked over his shoulder. "DG made the green ink glow, and they'll combust after Mother and Prince Aedan reads them."

"Why would she do that?" Glitch looked over Cain's left shoulder and his mouth made a silent oh before he continued. "It's the wedding contract between the O.Z. and Aurissau."

Ahamo slammed the sketch book down on a stool. "When she says she'd rather be eaten by rabid Papays, how much more of a hint does Galinda need?"

"That's the first thing DG wrote too," Glitch said cheerfully. The next green sentence wiped the cheer away. "Does that word mean what I think it means?"

Cain didn't recognize the word either, but considering that the rest of the sentence said if DG wanted to sell it, she would do so honestly as a Sin District whore, the context was damn clear. "Yeah, I think it does." He folded the pages to hide the green writing. "Get this thing working." He thrust the time loop projector into Glitch's hands before handing the pages to the Consort. "You and the Queen probably want to read that privately."

Ahamo opened the sheets. "And the court thought I had trouble being diplomatic."

"Got it working."


	2. Chapter 2

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Two**

Cain and Ahamo turned to see DG sitting at her desk. "Is this thing recording?" She poked at the projector. "This is for Glitch, 'cause I know you and Az will steal this from the Queen as soon as you find out about it. Any way, Glitch, add a little red light that turns on when you're recording. Makes it more user friendly."

DG sat up straighter in her chair. Cain moved to get a clear look at her face. His chest tightened. She had lost weight over the last annual, and she never had much to spare. The dark smudges under her eyes betrayed many sleepless nights. Her black hair was braided and the pants she wore could be found in the O.Z. She planned on blending in wherever she had gone.

"By now, you should know that I'm gone." DG laced her fingers together in her lap. "No one coerced me or kidnapped me. I'm twenty-two-years," she grimaced, "annuals-old, and by the Zone and Other Side laws, I'm old enough to do what I damn well please. And what pleases me right now is getting the fuck out of this gilded iron suit!"

She paused to bring her anger back under control. "I should have written this down. Well, I tried my best to be what you wanted, your Majesty. I went to every lesson, every meeting, wore those torture devices you call clothes, played nice with stuck-up snobs kissing up to the Crown. And what did I get in return?" She spread her hands before making fists.

"I got a Palace full of people ashamed of everything connected to me. I got strangers for parents who order me around when they remember I'm not dead, stuck on the Other Side, or seven. I have snobs gleefully setting up things that I'll react to so they can snicker at me! I got a stalker that has Mother's A-okay because he has a goddamned title! He owes Raw his life, and you don't invite any Viewers to Raw's celebration because the little prick is suddenly offended by them. We'd all be frozen in darkness if it wasn't for Raw!"

Cain gestured to Glitch, who paused the time loop. "What the hell is she talking about? Raw's not invited to the celebration of the Battle at the Eclipse?"

"No Viewers were," Azkadellia shook her head. "Prince Aedan said they made him uncomfortable, but it wouldn't do if he wasn't there when they announced the engagement. Everyone told Mother it wasn't right." She threw up her arms. "No matter that it is beyond the realm of wishful thinking at this point."

Ahamo sighed. "Commander Cain, please keep quiet about this. My wife is fit to rule. The rest of her decisions are sound."

"She just has no matchmaking skills," Glitch added.

"There was never supposed to be any matchmaking," Ahamo countered.

Cain wanted to differ with the Consort. Nothing was sound about the decision to send him away from his son and DG, but that was a pointless discussion. "How did Raw save Prince Aedan's life?"

"I don't know. DG never said anything about it." Azkadellia winced at the frozen DG. "I wish she had."

Glitch restarted the time loop. "Bad enough how the Sorceress treated them, but I expected better from you, Mother," DG snarled. "Maybe I shouldn't have. After all, you ordered away the only people I trust. The only ones who explained this crazy place to me instead of expecting me to remember something erased from my memories. The only ones who didn't treat me like I was a moron because I don't know something."

She looked at her hands. "I don't know why you're pushing the throne at me so hard with how stupid you think I must be. Did you laugh when I hugged Cain good-bye? Did you have a good chuckle every time Glitch's assistant pushed me out of his lab?" Her voice grew bitter. "Did you giggle filling out my schedule, so I needed to be in a dress in the afternoon and no time to change, so of course, I'd have to wear proper Princess attire all day? Dorothy Gale is such a Slipper, she'll never figure it out. Did you enjoy it as much as those other snobs enjoyed laughing at me for dancing with Raw, for not recognizing muglug, for almost breaking my neck every time I'm in high heels? Yeah, there's a bunch that'll take me serious as Queen."

DG thrust herself up and shoved the chair back to the desk. "And before you go all apeshit that someone spilled your precious secrets, I figured it out on my own." She paced across the carpet. "Your telling me I have to marry the prick because he's the only eligible prince and we need that more than we needed the alliance confirmed what I feared. My friends, the heroes who suffered for their loyalty, were not good enough for you."

She stopped and looked into the projector's lenses. "If they aren't good enough, there's no way this Kansas farm girl will ever be good enough for you. I thought I could stick it out and fix what I had broken," she shrugged on a faded wool jacket and stuffed her hands into its pockets. "But you don't trust me to help with anything. And when I saw the orders you are going to send Cain," she shook her head before glaring again.

"Wyatt Cain has **nothing** to do with my decision not to marry Prince Aedan! You like the little prick so much, adopt him. Az can have fun torturing his ass. Az, I mean it, be all Sorceress evil because he is the one bastard in this world who deserves it." Azkadellia looked alarmed at the recording of her sister who now looked at the floor. "It's been six months and I still can't." She shook her head again.

"Anyways, I love you, Az, and I'll miss you. Glitch, take care of my sister like you really want to. Tell Jeb not to worry because I have a plan. Consider this Princess DG's resignation letter."

DG blinked out of existence.

Cain realized he was clenching his hand and relaxed it. "Orders for me?"

Glitch shrugged, but Ahamo answered. "I know your name was on the short list of personnel capable of commanding the Frozen Pass Fortress. I didn't realize Galinda had made a decision."

"Excuse my language, your Highness, but what the hell did Cain do to deserve exile?" Glitch glowered. "There is a reason that fortress was abandoned a hundred annuals ago!"

_I like a Princess too much for a loyal subject. Haven't you figured that out yet, Zipperhead?_ Cain didn't say it, and was touched that Glitch was indignant on his behalf. "Should we take this evidence to the Queen?"

"Yes, before she commits the Army to a grid search of the entire Zone." Ahamo took the time loop projector and led the way down the stairs to the throne room.

The Queen stopped berating the Captain of the Royal Guards as they walked inside. Jeb glanced at his father, but didn't leave the line of Royal Army leaders standing at attention. "Commander Cain." He stared into the lavender eyes without flinching as he stopped before the dais. "Where is Dorothy Gale?"

"Out of Central City by now."

"What did you plan?" Her fist slammed on the throne's armrest.

Cain's voice froze, and it usually sent criminals running away at top speed. "Per your orders, I have had no contact with the youngest Princess since I left Central City. I arrived early for the ball, went to the barracks to see my son, and was told he was here in the Palace. Before I could leave a message for him, Ambrose and Princess Azkadellia asked me to investigate Princess DG's disappearance with the Consort." The Queen only blinked.

Ahamo reached his wife's side. "DG ran away. This is her note." He handed her the time loop projector but closed his hand around hers before she activated it. "Watch it in private." She frowned, but Ahamo didn't let go. "You do not want that out in court."

The Queen nodded. "Did she give any clues as to where she was going?"

"No, she didn't."

"Then she must be found. Commander Cain, can you do your duty and return Dorothy Gale to the Palace?"

Return her to these people who hurt her so deeply? Not considering any other possibilities between them, didn't he have a duty to the girl who freed him from the suit? Cain's lips twitched. "I always do my duty, your Majesty."

"How many men do you need?"

"None. You don't want to draw attention to the fact the Princess is missing."

The Queen's eyes narrowed, but Ahamo nodded. "That's a sound plan. Plus Commander Cain can move faster alone." Her suspicious expression transferred to her husband. Ahamo leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper.

The Queen lost most of her frown once Ahamo moved back. "Very well. Commander Cain, take whatever resources you need. The rest of you are dismissed." She swept off the dais and through the door behind the raised curtain.

The Captain of the Royal Guards and the Army leaders fled trying to not look like they were retreating. Jeb stopped in front of Cain. "Some visit."

"At least I didn't waste money on a room. DG said to tell you not to worry because she had a plan. What does that mean?"

Jeb grimaced, "Less than you're probably hoping for. She snuck away from lessons one day soon after you left and I found her. Her excuse was she needed a break, and while we talked she said she had a plan for when all this got to be too much. I asked her what it was but she only said 'All life's answers are found along the Old Road.' Since the Brick Route is the only road out of Central City in every direction, that's not very helpful."

"Her nurture units told her that," Cain frowned. Even DG had to realize Milltown would be searched.

"I'm coming too, Cain." Glitch stood ramrod stiff as he joined father and son.

Cain glanced over the Advisor's shoulder. Azkadellia stared at the mural on the wall, hugging herself. "No, you're not. You're gonna take care of her sister like DG wants."

His brown eyes flicked guiltily to Azkadellia. "Don't play that game, Tin Man."

"No game, Zipperhead. I don't want to deal with DG trying to kick your backside 'cause you didn't listen." Glitch looked unconvinced and Cain patted his shoulder. "'Sides, crowding DG is a bad idea, and Azkadellia needs protecting."

Glitch deflated. "Damn nest of vipers around here." He looked ready to say something more, but wiped it from his demeanor. "Good luck, Cain." He stepped away as the Consort reached Jeb's side.

"Sorry to have pulled you from your duties, Captain Cain, for a false alarm." Cain felt Ahamo's eyes appraising him while he addressed Jeb.

"With all due respect, your Highness, the Princess isn't safe out there alone."

"So it's a good thing the Princess isn't out there." Ahamo smiled at Jeb's confusion and turned to Cain. "Walk with me, Commander, while we get your supplies."

"My things are still at the barracks."

"I'll see to that," Jeb offered, "and find you a fresh horse." He left with a bow to the Consort.

"I don't know what else I could need," Cain said when they were alone in the throne room. The smooth-shaven man was fashionably dressed, but it felt like he was addressing the Seeker again.

"Money and food make every journey easier." Ahamo led the way down an offshoot hallway of offices. "DG gets her stubbornness from her mother. I argued against your posting in the Great Kells until I was hoarse. But Galinda has decided DG's Slipper behavior can only be nullified by marrying her to another royal or a lesser noble, and DG won't consider another man as long as you were around. So off you went."

Cain stopped in the empty hallway. "Your Highness, I never...."

"You think I'm accusing you of taking advantage of my daughter?" Ahamo laughed. "I may be pathetic at politics, but I can read people. Actually, I'm trying to offer my apologies and support."

"Apologies?" Cain eyed him warily as they walked again.

Ahamo's mirth died. "If I had kept my mouth shut about a man screaming my daughter's name as I carried DG away, Galinda would not have seen you as a threat to her heal-the-Zone plans." Cain glared at him for daring to bring up that moment, even with sympathy. "And if DG chooses you, you have my blessings for what they're worth. Though telling her that probably won't help you court her."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." That seemed the safest response since they had reached the treasury office. It didn't matter if he hadn't hidden his feelings as well as he thought; DG didn't feel that way about him. She hadn't even left a goodbye message on the time loop projection for him.

Ahamo turned from the clerk to consider Cain. "There's no such thing as an unlimited expense account? A thousand platinums then; that should be enough."

Cain's blue eyes opened wide. "Your Highness?"

"Not all in cash. One hundred in cash and the rest on that voucher all banks recognize." The clerk nodded and started his paperwork. "I don't expect you to spend all in one place, Commander. But with DG, it's better to be prepared."

He decided not to argue, signed where he was told to sign, and pocketed the cash and bank passbook he was given. He hadn't started searching for DG yet, and already his head pounded.

Ahamo led them further into the bowels of the Palace. "I envy you a lot, Commander. Your son remembers you."

Cain didn't trust all this male bonding. "What we have now isn't easy."

"I don't doubt that. But I would prefer it over watching your child flinch when you ask what's wrong."

Since the only answer Cain had for that was a complaint about the Consort's judgment in the Realm of the Unwanted, he grunted instead.

Ahamo got the kitchen staff to pack food suitable for the journey. "You drag the Princess back here and she's going to starve to death." The head cook said, running a rolling pin over a pile of dough, and Cain took a half-step back, just to make it easier to duck.

The Consort chuckled, "I'm sure DG eats when she gets hungry enough."

"Right, of course, your Highness," she continued. "Far be it for me to actually see the evidence of uneaten meals leaving her rooms. Or talk to the head seamstress over how the youngest princess's corsets needed taking in. All because the Queen comes meddling."

"I'm sure she meant only the best for DG."

"What does the Queen know about taking care of homesickness?" She whirled, brandishing the rolling pin. "When everything you knew has been upended and all you want is a taste of home?" Cain gave Ahamo credit. He didn't flinch as the rolling pin flew past his nose. "Even you sneak down here for that thing you call a hamburger even though there's no ham in it!" A scullery maid cleared her throat. The older woman snatched the sack of food from the girl with a gruff nod. "If you drag the Princess back here, I will feed her what the young lady wants to eat. And only what she wants to eat." She tossed the pack at Cain. "And if your wife interferes again, sixteen servants will leave for market and only fourteen will come back!" The kitchen door slammed behind both men.

Cain adjusted his hold on the sack. "So the kitchen staff let DG out?"

"And Galinda has been breaking toes to turn DG into a proper princess." Ahamo shook his head. "She appreciates all this finery. I've adjusted to it, and no one knows if Azkadellia can function without it. So of course, something is wrong with DG because she hates it." His head turned, making sure they were alone in the hall. "Which is why I'm changing your orders."

Cain raised his scarred eyebrow.

"If DG wants to come back, which I highly doubt, bring her back. But if she'd rather stay away, keep her safe."

Cain felt relief. He hadn't been sure what he was going to do with DG, and after everything he had seen and heard, he was leaning heavily toward seeing if Azkadellia could make a travel storm. This option would be better all round. "You have my word, your Highness."

Ahamo clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. Now let's get you on your way."

The Consort didn't follow Cain out of the Palace and Jeb waited with a fresh horse in the parade grounds. Cain secured the food and double checked his transferred tack. "The Gate Watch reported a motorcycle rider leaving through Shiz Gate a little after dawn."

"She didn't waste any time."

Jeb rubbed the bay's muzzle. "It doesn't make any sense. I figured she'd take Westgate. The Northern Palace isn't an escape, and there's nothing else she knows that way."

"You expected her to head straight to the Tower?" Cain checked the shotgun in the saddle holster. "Or that she would circle down to Milltown?"

"DG likes the tiktoks, but even she would know that would be the first place searched. Besides, a search unit has already reported Father Vue hasn't seen her. So why didn't she take the Vinkus Branch?"

"That doesn't lead to anywhere she knows either." Maybe her plan didn't extend past getting out of Central City. Cain clenched his fist.

"It leads to you, eventually." Jeb smirked, "She missed you. Nothing that can convince me her greeting 'Hi Jeb. Have you heard from your father lately?' was due to her worrying about our relationship."

First Ahamo, now his son. "Why chase after me when she has you?" That came out more bitter than he intended.

Jeb frowned, "It wasn't like that, Dad. We weren't allowed conversations any more than you were allowed to be in the same region of the Zone with her. The only ones she could spend time with were family and Prince Aedan. Wouldn't do if she picked an unacceptable suitor." His son met his glare calmly. "DG and I would meet in passing, she'd ask, I'd tell her some tidbit from your letters, she'd say to tell you something like she finally mastered the waltz, and we'd continue on our separate ways. I'm sorry if my letters gave you a different impression. I thought you'd want to know what she said."

Cain sighed, "I'm sorry, son. It's been a bad day."

"I know. Be careful out there." Jeb hugged him stiffly and Cain tried not to be as stiff returning it. "And be careful with DG."

"What do you mean?"

"You told me if you don't have heart, you have nothing. Her heart's been dying a little every day. I don't know how much she has left." His son's observation mixed with DG's paintings echoed in Cain's mind as he left Central City.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Three**

DG hummed as she finished grooming her new horse. They had kept horses long enough in Kansas for her to learn the basics. It was well past dark when she reentered the inn.

"The bathing room is free now," the female innkeeper told her with a smile. "Have you decided what you'd like for supper?"

Fried chicken was not available. For some reason, you didn't eat chickens in the O.Z. and she feared it was like the cows in India, so she didn't ask. But that didn't make the craving go away. "Whatever you have the most of. I'll eat in my room if that's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all, Miss Cain."

DG swallowed her unease as she gathered up her toiletries and nightclothes. Maybe she should have tried harder to come up with an alias. Hopefully, the search parties will concentrate on the Eastern Territories first. She double checked her map. Tomorrow, she'd be off road making tracking her harder. That cheered her up as she headed down the hall to the bathroom.

She scrubbed away the evidence of the day's ride. The hot water eased the muscles in her legs. Some potholes she hadn't been able to avoid with the motorcycle. And her horse riding skills needed more practice. The hallway was empty, so she hiked up the flannel nightgown and tied it at her waist. The women in the inn hadn't freaked out over her wearing pants to travel in, but she didn't want to take a chance on reactions to sleeping in pants. Hence the too-long nightgown, which covered her pajama pants.

She opened her room's door unseen by anyone. A small fire burned in the fireplace that she hadn't started before her bath. The lamp had been put out. DG held her breath as she reached out with her magic. Someone was in her room to her left, behind the door. Someone working for the inn wouldn't hide.

She still hadn't shut the door. She could go for help, or she could attack. She grinned and shifted her toiletries to her right hand. She slammed the door. The figure in the shadows shielded his head from the soap and hairbrush. DG kicked his shin and whirled to the fireplace, snatching up the poker.

"Damnit, Princess, stop!"

Her stomach flipped, hell, maybe all her internal organs. The voice she had longed to hear for so many months and the man it belonged to lifted his fedora as he stepped into the firelight. Sympathy for DeMilo's dumbfoundment hit her. "Wyatt freakin' Cain."

He grimaced as he shifted his weight off his wounded leg. "Did Glitch teach you how to kick people?"

"Kickball in junior high P.E. class." She still made a joke to hide the anger pounding in her ears. Her grip on the poker tightened. But if she couldn't be honest with Cain, she might as well return and staple the tiara to her head. "Glitch isn't allowed to breathe around me, much less teach me anything." Cain relit the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall near the bed. "I can only see Glitch when he sees Az, so I can learn proper dating manners." She bit off each word she said. "It's stupid to chaperon two adults, so I give them space."

Cain's lips twitched. "Princess."

DG sent a sound barrier around the interior of the room. His eyebrows rose at the golden-hued walls, but she was now too angry to do anything about the magic. "Don't call me that! I quit, retired, resigned; don't you even have the concept here? No more Princess DG, find a new one!" The poker slashed through the air.

"Will you put that away?"

She didn't feel like bashing in Cain's head, so she hung the poker back in place with the other fireplace tools. Cain breathed out hard as he relaxed. Why did that enrage her more? Everything was fine, now that he had found her to drag her back to the Palace? Fear spiked through her anger. Wyatt Cain was the only one capable of bringing her back if he was ordered to. The Queen probably had his duty, honor, sense of right and wrong listed in a file somewhere. Anger overrode the fear. Cain was on the verge of saying something, and she didn't want to hear his lecture or apologies or anything.

"So the Queen sent you to bring me back." Her pronouncement stole whatever Cain was about to say and she ranted on to not lose the momentum. "Nobody gave me lessons on how to be a manipulative bitch. Maybe it's not a class, but just an inborn gift my mother has."

"DG," Cain started.

"She sent you after me. Boy, nothing subtle about that. Wyatt Cain, only allowed to fetch the Princess. Don't dare be anything more or you'll get shipped off to the Great Kells. Why did you agree? Have you no self respect or did she threaten Jeb again?"

"How did you know--"

DG shrieked. "Not you too! Damnit, I'm not stupid! So what if I don't know when a lunch pail is ripe, what a Wheeler is, why Munchkins overcompensate height issues with feathers and war paint? You don't have television or rock 'n roll, or even asphalt! See, you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, but I don't call you a dummy. What else do you have to hold over your head? Jesus, a mobat could figure it out!"

Cain took a step forward, "DG."

"And I don't care how quickly Ahamo, Grandma Dorothy or any other Slippers adjusted. They weren't lied to! I'd forgive the fifteen years on the Other Side, if I hadn't been screwed over this past year!"

"Kid."

DG threw up her hands. "Of course, your answer for everything. I'm just a child throwing a tantrum. Why did I thinking you'd understand? The Queen orders and you obey. You probably think I should say 'I do' to that little prick because the Queen said to." Cain's jaw hardened. He wasn't listening; he didn't believe her; and his mind was made up. "I can't go back to that gilded iron suit." Fear spiked with each heartbeat. "You can't take me back. I won't go back! I'll--"

"Will you let me get a word in!" The skin over Cain's jawbone spasmed.

She sank into the armchair between the bed and the fireplace. He was going to take her back. How could she be so stupid to think he would understand? This room was on the second story; was that high enough to break her neck? She couldn't get his gun away from him to shoot herself.

Cain sighed as he put his fedora on the mantle. She watched him shrug off his leather duster and hang it on the hook on the door. At least, she got one last look at his butt. She could throw herself out the window happily thinking about how his pants molded to his body. Something more would've been nice, but no point in being greedy. Besides, sex had never solved any loneliness before.

He sat on the foot of the full-sized bed. "I'd ask if you feel better but I don't want you to start again." He smirked; DG only stared. He licked his lips. "You're right about your mother. She did order me to bring you back. I didn't turn it down. After seeing your paintings and your goodbye projection, I was finding you regardless."

DG winced. She hadn't planned on Cain seeing any of those. Great, now he would take her to the nearest mental hospital instead.

"But your father changed the orders. So where are we going?"

Her eyes widened. "What?"

Cain smirked again. "I promised the Consort to stay with you and keep you safe. Easiest promise I ever made. All I wanted to do was stay with you."

She couldn't breathe. "You're not dragging me back?"

"No, I'm not dragging you back." He grunted when he caught her launched body.

DG tightened her arms and buried her face against his neck. She couldn't stop shaking. His arm wrapped around her waist and a hand cradled the back of her head. She sobbed. She had to stop; she had to show him how strong she was. The tears didn't stop.

His hand stroked her wet hair. "I'll never leave you again, DG." He pressed his head against hers. "You have my word." His arm tightened around her body.

Her heart hammered her chest. "I missed you." She lifted her head to see his face.

"You missed me?" His crystal blue eyes gazed into hers. She nodded, not trusting her voice. "I missed you too." He winced, "I'm sorry for this past annual."

"It wasn't your fault. You were too grumpy to be leaving of your own free will, I saw that."

He shifted the arms around her. "There was a way around it, but I didn't even look for it."

"And she threatened your son. I know how I am if something threatens you guys or Az, I understand." She shouldn't be so comfortable leaning against Cain, but now that the adrenaline dwindled, she didn't have the energy to move. "I just never expected to put my mother in the 'things to look out for' column."

"Most people don't have to. And since your mother nurture unit...."

"Wasn't a manipulative bitch. It's okay, you can say it." A knock rapped against the door.

Cain chuckled and shifted her aside so he could answer. DG pulled down the spell and found a washcloth to wipe her face. A maid bustled in with a laden tray that had legs. "Just set it in the hall when you're finished." She bobbed and left.

The ferocity of her appetite surprised DG. "Smells good."

"Stew and bread." Cain her passed a bowl.

She dived into what tasted like beef stew. "So Ahamo didn't want you to drag me back?"

"He said you were old enough to know what you want."

"Damn, now I wish I had tried harder to bond."

He dunked his slice of bread into the broth. "Why didn't you?"

"Because he'd sneak up, and bam, it was the Seeker grabbing me again. The more stuff pressed down, the harder it was to hide being afraid of him." She paused her spoon. "I didn't want to be afraid of him."

"Sometimes, you can't help what you feel." Cain watched her from the armchair, making her feel safe, unlike any stares she was given inside the Palace. "But for what it's worth, I think he feels bad about it."

"Great, I made him feel bad. Is there any more stew?"

"No, have the rest of the bread." He took her empty bowl and gave her the platter of buttered slices, so she didn't have to get off the foot of the bed. "I'm the last one to talk about feelings, but even I know you can't make people feel anything. You and Ahamo both feel bad because he blundered, and it's put a strain on your relationship."

She set the empty platter on the tray before he could do it for her. "Is it hard to get a travel storm?"

"I don't think we need to run to the Other Side." His scarred eyebrow rose. "Ahamo will keep the Queen from sending people after us."

"I was just considering an option. My family needs therapy, so maybe I should find a good psychologist who wouldn't be afraid of working with us before ever going back to them."

"You never asked Raw for help?"

"I did. He said he would do anything for me, but he'd rather get hooked to a tank again than counsel my parents." She wrinkled her nose. "Probably sensed how she didn't want him around."

"Your sister and Glitch explained about the Victory Ball. I guess this means we're boycotting it."

"It's not right that Raw isn't there." Something in his tone surprised her. "Did you want to go?"

"Doesn't matter now. And you're right about Raw." He set his empty bowl on the tray. "So where are we headed?"

"You changed my final destination." DG pulled her map out of her pack again and gave it to him while she sat down in front of the fire. Her hair still needed drying. "The circle is where Raw's village is."

"Viewers don't share that, DG. Not after what the witch did to them."

"Raw told me it was a secret, but he marked it in case I needed a safe place to go to. I was planning to get there and then see if Raw and Kalm wanted to go."

"Where?"

"Your base in the Great Kells," she said, looking at the floor.

"You were coming to see me?" His voice sounded like he didn't believe she wanted to.

"Yeah, but now you're here, and I didn't plan further than that." She hugged her knees as she looked at him. "But there's so much of the O.Z. I haven't seen. Western Territories seemed like a good place to start since you were already there."

Cain studied the map. "Why didn't you take the Vinkus Branch of the Brick Route and follow the Gillikin River to Raw's village?"

"Which one is supposed to be the stupid one: the girl, the Princess, or the Slipper? One, everybody in the O.Z. knows that's the general route taken by our merry band searching for the Emerald and after the Eclipse. Two, the first places the Army would search are places I already know. Going into the Pertha Hills and then south avoids all of those. Three, since the last time I was on horseback was the ride to the Tower a year ago, I hoped the search parties would look for me traveling by bike or foot."

"You really did have a plan."

"Just because I don't hesitate doesn't mean I don't think. And I had lots of time to think about this."

"You told Jeb you had a plan a week after I left."

"I didn't lie, but it wasn't completely fine-tuned then."

Cain shook his head. "You still want to see the Fuzzball?" She grinned and he smiled. "Okay, wouldn't want him to worry about us." She hummed happily and picked up her brush and soap off the floor. She returned to the hearth and ran the brush through her black hair. Cain's smile hadn't left his face. "Your sister was upset that you left her behind."

"Az's idea of roughing it is no room service. How does she think she'd survive?"

"I doubt she thought about that. Too busy calling you a little sneak." DG huffed before yawning. "Bedtime."

"I'm not arguing. It's been a long day." She climbed into the bed and turned down the lamp while he carried the tray out to the hall. She watched him resettle into the armchair. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get some sleep."

"The bed is big enough, and I promise not to ravish you while you're sleeping."

He didn't look convinced. "It wouldn't be proper, kiddo."

"Neither was traveling across the O.Z. with four strange men but nobody complains about that. You spent all day in the saddle except for what you spent with my parents. The least I can do is share the bed."

"And about five minutes with Jeb." Cain pulled off his gun belts and set his gun on the nightstand. "Scoot over. I get the side next to the door."

She waited until he settled on the mattress and pillow. "I'm sorry you didn't get to visit with Jeb."

"Don't go feeling guilty about that." The shadows from the fireplace danced over his profile. "I couldn't let him throw his career away to chase you. So why now?"

"Why now what? Running?" Cain grunted an affirmative. DG turned to look at the ceiling. "The Queen kept thrusting the marriage contract in my face, she did Raw wrong and probably pissed off the entire Viewer community, I found out she wanted to send you to the frozen North. Her generals don't even want that fortress in use. And then I found that blasted contract on my desk and I lost it. If I had stayed, we'd be arguing about who could be trusted to be the next Queen, Az or the daughter who killed Galinda." She swallowed hard. "I couldn't fake being a good little Princess any more."

"You shouldn't need to fake anything." He twisted his head to look at her. "Be honest with me."

"Always." DG smiled and closed her eyes, feeling safe for the first time in months.


	4. Chapter 4

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Four**

They ate breakfast in the main room with other travelers. It pleased Cain to see DG tuck into her meals heartily. He'd felt bones while hugging her last night. The head cook had reason to be alarmed. Much about DG's mindset baffled him and she shouldn't bottle it up, but there was a limit on what could be discussed in public. "Thea Cain?"

He had missed how quickly she picked up on trains of thought. "Thea I used before on the Internet. Then I needed a last name I could spell." She wrinkled her nose. "I made it absurdly easy for you, didn't I?"

"My shin would disagree."

"What did you think I would do, surprising me like that?"

_Bolt out the nearest exit_, but he didn't say it. He finished his eggs. "Internet dating, was that what you wanted to invent with Zipperhead?"

"What didn't you find out about?"

"Your sister and Zipperhead talk fast."

DG's blue eyes danced as she drank her coffee. "The Internet is a way to talk to people, with typing. It's safer to have a pseudonym in case of crazies. But I never needed it for a blind date."

"What do the blind have to do with it?" Cain pushed away his empty plate.

"That's what going out with someone you've never seen before is called."

He shook his head. "We better head out." DG didn't offer more Other Side terminology as they left the village. Surprisingly, she knew what to do on horseback though she was rusty. The horse was docile and patient with her inexperience. They rode side by side on the broken road through the thickening forest. "You made a good trade for the horse."

Her smile dazzled him as her cheeks grew pinker. She patted the mare's neck to hide how pleased his comment made her. "Flicka here had good recommendations, but I'm glad Mr. Smithy didn't try to trick me. He didn't want to take my bike." Her smile went lopsided as she glanced at him. "I didn't cover my tracks there, did I?"

Cain smirked. "It would have worked better at harvest time with more traffic from the farmers."

DG nodded. "Other Side ways trip me up again." But her voice lacked self-animosity. "Harvest time in Kansas means just more trucks on the roads." She shook her head. "So what was the Great Kells like? If you can tell me without giving away top secret military stuff?"

"It was lonely." That admission surprised him, but he expanded it, spurred by her sympathetic blue eyes. "A whole base in awe of one of the Saviors of the Zone. And it was windy. Cut you to the bone no matter how many layers you wore. But you'll probably like the rest of the Western Territories. It looks like your Kansas paintings."

DG looked wistful. "It'd be nice to see prairies again. Nothing against the trees, but there's so many here."

"Prairies," he tried out the Other Side term. "They called them the Grasslands in the Kells. I never heard what anyone living on them called them."

"Vocabulary lessons were never put on my agenda. I don't know if the other stuff was more important or if they decided I couldn't learn any." The hurt had crept back into her voice.

"Stargazing was easy, even if you froze doing it." Cain hoped DG would retreat into a change of subject.

She did. "I didn't take you for an amateur astronomer."

"I had to relearn a lot. Central City blocks a lot of the stars."

"But you can't really complain, it's one of the few places with lights aimed at the sky." DG let the conversation lapse. In truth, Cain found it unsettling. He had braced himself for ceaseless chatter and DG wasn't chattering. She wasn't angry or sad, just quiet. And if he pried into what he suspected she hadn't gotten off her chest, everything would shatter between them.

As he found a hidden trail off the Brick Route leading toward the vicinity of Raw's village, he realized that he hoped Raw could make her open up. Was he taking the coward's way out? His bruised shin voted to follow the Viewer's lead when it came to DG's emotional state.

DG dismounted and came up beside him. "That way?"

"Yep, better lead the horses." She let him go first without protesting. The light from the suns took on a warm greenish tint under the canopy that blotted out the blue sky. This forest was as ancient as the ones the Munchkins built their villages in. The trail was wide enough for the horses and wound around the tree trunks hedged by undergrowth of brambles.

He looked back to DG. "I'm not touching anything," she called teasingly.

"Good," he smirked. None of the plants looked poisonous, but at least DG had learned not to take chances. The light grew brighter ahead.

The trail eased up a slight hill and opened into a meadow of wildflowers at the top. DG gasped as she turned to take it in, including the blue sky above the ringing trees. A breeze made the rainbow in flowers dance. "Wow. It's so beautiful." She jerked towards Cain. "Are these flowers okay?"

"I think so. Why the sudden concern?"

"I got more careful about plants after the head gardener spent a whole day lecturing me after I accidentally wandered into the deadly section of the garden. Though nobody had a good answer as to why that section wasn't fenced off with a locked gate."

"Did they have a good reason for having it in the first place?" Cain took the reins of her mare and secured the horses near the edge of the forest.

"A former queen wanted a preserve of all the plants in the O.Z. and the Army has uses for some of them. But chemical warfare isn't considered a subject fit for a Princess. There's Raw!" She took off across the flowers to reach the Viewer emerging from the woods across from them. Cain followed at a slower pace.

Raw's hug lifted DG off her feet and he spun her around before letting go and seeing Cain. He grinned wide enough to reveal his fangs. "Cain found DG." He nodded with approval. Cain worried what exactly the Viewer was able to feel from him, but DG hadn't noticed anything.

"Did the beacon charm work?" She lifted a marble hanging from a chain around Raw's neck. The pulsing light emitting from it faded with her touch.

"DG's clever magic worked very well." Raw led them to a fallen log. DG sat between the two males. "Humans not welcome in village now." Her face fell as she looked at the ground. "Sorry for having good reflexes."

Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "You bruised him more than I did."

Raw looked over DG's head to Cain's confused face. What were they talking about? Raw held DG's hand. "Not tell Cain?"

"I haven't told anybody."

"Not your fault."

She pulled her hand away. "Keep telling me that and maybe someday I'll believe it."

"If I'm not supposed to know the big secret, maybe you two should stop talking 'bout it." Cain glared at them. Were they talking about the Winter Festival? He dug his fingers into the palm of his hands to not demand to know. Raw winced at him, but DG didn't look at all. She leaned her elbows onto her thighs. This was why prying wouldn't help. "Are you gonna ask him or should I?"

She uncurled herself. "You and Kalm want to come with us? Just like old times."

"Hopefully with less running for our lives and having to save the world," Cain added.

Raw shook his head with a sad smile. "I needed here. Too much anger and fear. I must explain so other Viewers understand."

"Please practice on me, 'cause I don't get it either." DG turned her wide blue eyes on the Viewer. Now Cain winced. They all knew the power of those eyes and were helpless against it.

Raw squirmed, looking away. "Not want to hurt. Will hurt any way."

She leaned her head against his fur-covered shoulder. "Hurts a little to heal, right? I won't hold it against you."

Raw sighed. "The Queen did not get what she wanted with the defeat of the Witch."

"What does that mean?" Cain asked. DG pulled her head off Raw's shoulder and Raw acted like he had delivered the worst news in the world. "She got her family and her throne back. What more could she want?"

"I'm not what she wanted." DG stared at the leaf-littered ground between her feet.

Cain's lips twitched with her flat voice, "Kid."

She jumped to her feet. "And that's the heart of the whole damn problem! Ding, dong, the witch is dead, but her angel didn't come back."

"Queen's hopes for future buried too far in past," Raw broke in explaining to Cain and soothing DG with the same words. "Unprepared for reality. Doesn't understand DG."

"So instead of accepting me, she tries to turn the no-good waitress into a princess. And if that doesn't work, marry her off and get rid of her."

"Queen thinks Prince will protect you."

"Leave that out. Kalm can kick Aedan's ass. Everyone will think her judgment's deteriorated and start another mad scramble for the throne." She growled as she paced. "Why do I even care? I quit, resigned, retired, no more Royal rigmarole!"

"They're still your family, kiddo."

Cain steeled himself against flinching when she glared. "Do you want the seven-year-old back too, Mr. Cain?" She stomped across the meadow.

Raw sighed. "Why you always call DG name she hates? Worth hurting her to hide feelings?"

"I didn't know it hurt her." He should have. She barked back at him that she wasn't a kid the first time he called her one. It was easier to concentrate on her youth rather than how a woman besides Adora or his mother took care of him when he was vulnerable.* He watched her root into her pack.

"DG wants to be your equal."

"She's not my equal; she's a princess."

Now Raw growled. "DG not want to be princess. DG not feel like princess. DG feels worth nothing and longs to hear different. Especially from Cain."

The Tin Man looked at Raw sharply. "Why should my opinion matter so much?"

"Does." He shrugged. "DG fears you will think less of her if you know things."

Cain watched DG plop down among the flowers with a book. "How could she possibly think I would think less of her?"

"The Palace," Raw snarled, "made DG ashamed of life on Other Side that made DG."

Her paintings had shown her feelings of being trapped and missing their camaraderie. Cain didn't remember shame. But the black-haired girl in the ball from hell painting had defensively curled up. "Was she attacked?"

"Not my place to tell."

Their gazes turned to the cap barely visible among the flowers. "Forget I asked that. Is she going to get better?"

"Love heals much if believed in." Raw headed toward DG.

"What do you mean by that?" Cain clenched his fist as he joined Raw. She wanted friends who she trusted and made her feel safe.

"DG found out only love ever knew was not real and then gone."

"Her nurture units."

The Viewer nodded. "Parents hurt thinking it helps her. DG not accept hurt for love. Needs love. Not believe she deserves love. Won't believe love will stay." Raw grabbed his arm. He felt the fingers through the duster and shirt sleeve. "Cain stay with DG." Raw sounded relieved as he let go.

"I gave my word." They were too close to DG now to discuss her. "How the hell did I manage not to screw things up with Jeb?" He didn't add the comparison to the Royal couple.

"Did not expect to find Jeb. Refused possibility when I told the truth. And you very good at seeing world as it is."

Glitch called it bitter cynicism. But no matter how much it hurt, Cain's son had grown up without him and he had to deal with the man he had become. The Queen and Consort might be in the same circumstances, but they had done worse by DG. And he was proud of the man Jeb had grown into. Maybe that was the difference.

She didn't look up as they approached. Her pencil added details to the sketch of the horses and the meadow. "Do you always draw when you're upset?" he asked.

"Do you always check your gun when you've got emotions to hide?"

The image of a wounded animal barring its teeth popped into his head. DG wouldn't care for that comparison, but he used the same techniques--no threatening movements and a soft voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything derogatory by calling you a kid."

She searched his face for any insincerity. "Okay, I'm sorry for yelling. It's not that I mind a nickname or term of affection or whatever. Just not that."

_Princess_ was out as well. "Okay, sweetheart." She jerked her reddening face away. "What's wrong with that?"

She cleared her throat. "Nothing. No problem." She closed her sketchbook and stood.

Raw looked like he was silently chuckling. Cain tucked his thumbs into his belt. "Sure you won't change your mind?"

"Needed here. Cain protect DG. DG try to protect Cain."

"Save the defenseless DG talks for when I'm out of earshot." She wrapped her arms around Raw's neck. "Do what you got to. I don't want to see your people fighting the Queen."

"Visit when journey is done. Other Viewers' pride will be soothed by then."

"If we don't kill each other," Cain said. "See you down the road, Furball."

"Safe journeys."

They watched Raw cross the meadow and disappear into the trees. "We can cover a few spans before making camp." Cain glanced over DG's secured pack. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

*Reference to "Washing of the Water" by Allronix found at /s/4406548/1/.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Five**

DG kept enough thinking power on Flicka so she wouldn't lose control of the horse. The rest was occupied with figuring out why her life was so fucked up. Maybe the witch had cursed her when she flung her off the Tower. Maybe there was another nursery rhyme prophecy. Punishment for letting the witch out explained all the other bad shit she had dealt with. But Wyatt Cain calling her _sweetheart_ and not meaning a damn thing by it was a whole new level of hell!

Now he was giving her one of those sidelong appraising glances. They were way too close to those 'what is the crazy Slipper going to do now' looks from the Palace. He's still in love with Adora, and he's worried because he knows how close to the edge she is. Being a friend gave him the right to worry; she worried about him.

Why had she run after him? Life was worse without him in it, even just as a friend. She needed to paint.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Whatever you want to ask, just ask." His eyes opened wide. "You've been sneaking looks at me ever since we got back on the road, waiting for me to fall apart or something."

"But you don't. You pour it all into your paintings." How was he able to do that? It was like he could read her mind.

"I didn't have anyone to talk to about it, unless Raw was visiting."

Cain's lips twitched. "I know that. And I know I'm going to sound like the Zone's biggest hypocrite when I say this. You need to talk about your feelings and I'm here."

Mr. Stoic Tin Man wanted to talk about feelings? DG glanced up, making sure two suns were still in the sky. Raw must have given him instructions; that explained Cain trying to be warm and fuzzy. "Thanks, Cain, but not right now." He nodded and turned his full attention to the road.

She couldn't tell him everything. Aurissau would be short a prince when Cain got through with him. She couldn't let Cain do that to himself. And she didn't want to see disgust on his face, so no telling him about her dating life on the Other Side either. Had she known she was going to a world that was so uptight about marriage, she would have waited. The sex wasn't worth it.

Cain pulled his horse to a stop. DG stopped Flicka behind him. Another man on horseback blocked the road ahead. "Good day, folks. Passing through?" The smile across his swarthy face didn't reach his eyes.

Cain shifted the reins to his left hand. "Yes. Brick Route has a toll now?"

The stranger's oily, brown ponytail slipped off his shoulder when he laughed. "No, we're shoppers, not toll keepers. Get them!"

Two men burst out of the woods on each side of the road. One grabbed the shotgun on Cain's saddle and the one on the left grabbed the horse's bridle.

"Thea, run!" Cain pulled out his pistol.

DG saw two more men dressed in brown and green heading her way as she whirled. She kicked her heels. Flicka jumped into a gallop.

"Get her! Women are always worth more!"

Something whizzed past her face. Her arms flattened to her sides and something tightened around her chest, pinching her arms. She saw the lasso around her before the rope tightened more. Flicka escaped from between DG's legs. Her butt jolted against the broken bricks. She couldn't stop her head from falling back. Pain spiked and blackness swallowed the world.

* * *

She heard the groaning first. Then she felt the strong arms around her and the broad chest under her cheek. Men ambushing and surrounding them; she tried to push away.

"Easy, sweetheart, it's me. I've got you." Cain spoke as their moving jostled her head and pain spiked through it. But the body embracing her smelled like Cain--leather mixed with gunpowder and something else that always made her heart beat faster.

Cracking open her eyes, all DG saw was brown. She shifted her head up and Cain's face came into focus. The worried glare eased from around his crystal-blue eyes. "How do you feel, sweetheart?"

"Head hurts," she whispered. Her throat was dry too. Suddenly, the whole world bounced hard. Cain tightened his grip, but his muscular body didn't soften the impact by much. A whimper escaped the lance through her brain that made thinking impossible.

"Bastards can't drive either." Cain shifted her so her cheek rested near his shoulder and her forehead against his neck. "What do you remember?"

"Any aspirin, Cain?" She swallowed a few times.

"I don't know what that is, but I think the answer is no. Do you remember your name?"

DG didn't feel like a pop quiz while her head pounded like a whole marching band used it as a drum. But Cain wouldn't stop asking. "Thea Cain but I'm named after the first Slipper. And you're Wyatt Cain."

She felt his sigh of relief, heaved too silently for her ears to hear. "You got a knot on the back of your head the size of a small egg." She got a hand free and found it. He waited until she finished gasping from exploring the tender area. "Do you remember what happened?"

"We saw Raw and then we got attacked on the Brick Route. Did they hit me?"

"No, they pulled you from your horse and your head slammed into the ground." He rubbed her back.

"Where are we?"

"Prisoners, locked in a van. From what I could see of the suns, we're heading west." Cain's fingers unlocked muscles DG didn't realize were tense. "They're slavers."

She struggled with that. "But slavery is illegal, right?"

"Where law and order is recognized, it is." Cain's voice hardened, but his hand gently stroked her back.

If she didn't move her head and concentrated on his touch, she could pretend she was fine. "Are you hurt?"

"Took a few licks. Staying conscious to take care of you was a better plan. I should've protected you better."

"Horses need airbags." She plowed on before he asked what she meant. "We're still together, right? Now we need a plan."

Cain's jaw spasmed. "I'm out numbered and weaponless, and you can't swing a stick in your condition."

"The worst I ever did spilling from a bike was scraping up my leg. Pulling rank won't help."

He leaned his head against the wall of the van. "Only if you want to get sold to one of the fringe kingdoms and ransomed back to your mother."

"Didn't think it would work." The van bounced again and she grabbed two fistfuls of his duster.

"What about your magic?"

"Have to concentrate. Hard when it feels like someone's drilling through your head."

Cain stopped rubbing her back and tightened his hold. "They can't be crazy enough to drive through the night. I'll talk to them, don't draw attention to yourself. Okay?"

"Try to get something for my headache out of them." DG closed her eyes.

"I hate to do this to you now, but we need to make sure you can walk." She groaned as his arms slackened around her. "You've been through worse than this." Cain pushed until she stood; she clutched his forearms while he gripped her elbows. "Take a few steps."

"Easier said than done," she hissed. The pain in her lower back and pelvis matched the spike in her head. She kept one hand on the Tin Man as she walked away. "I wish Raw had changed his mind."

Cain's arm eased her to the floor of the van. "I can't help with the bruises, but I think I can help with the rest."

DG laid face-down while Cain's hand pressed against her spine. Her vertebrae popped and the pain eased. His hands formed a triangle right above her butt, and something in her pelvis shifted. She felt like she could move. She rolled over, sat up, and hissed before she knelt on her knees. "Butt is bruised." He looked at her hips. She told her flip-flopping stomach that he was only making sure she was okay. Her stomach didn't believe her. She cleared her throat. "Thanks, that feels better. So you're a chiropractor too?"

He looked up at her face, and his uncovered ears reddened. "A trick my father taught me for dealing with bad spills. What did you call it?"

"Chiropractors are healers who specialize in adjusting the spine on the Other Side." The light came in through window slits next to the roof. Like DeMilo's wagon, you could stand inside, and other than themselves, it was completely empty, not even a sign of Cain's hat.

The van jolted again, throwing DG into the air. Cain caught her before she slammed into the floor. He hugged her close and her heart started hammering. The throb in her head matched and it was easier to sag against him. "Don't talk about the Other Side," he said next to her ear. "Don't want these guys to realize you're a Slipper."

"Would that make me worth more or less?"

"I'm serious, sweetheart."

_Yeah, special circle of hell._ DG swallowed and hoped her voice was normal. "Defense mechanism, sorry. I'll keep quiet."

"Stay as close to me as you can." Cain's arms tightened more. "Hopefully, these guys will just secure us."

"I'll do my best." The van rocked as it came to a stop and the engine died. Cain squeezed her one more time and set her next to him.

The doors swung open. Two of the men who had attacked them pointed their shotguns into the van. "Come on out!"

Cain climbed out first with a grimace. She ignored her throbbing head and leaned on his offered arm. He wrapped it around her so she could continue to lean.

The speaker of the pair had a straggly red beard stretching over his pointy chin. "The pretty bitch woke up." His voice added to the throb. She winced and pressed closer to Cain while the redhead smacked his lips.

Cain growled. "Her head hurts. Do you have any medicine?"

"Better get used to ouchies," the redhead chuckled and gestured with the shotgun. "Get some water."

They had parked next to a swift stream that descended the slope over steps for a giant carved from the rocks. It had white churned water, but less than a full waterfall. The other three men were putting up a canvas tent downstream. The three horses were tethered to the van's front bumper. Only one sun was in the sky, but it dropped closer to the horizon the van pointed to.

Cain helped DG kneel on a rocky slab next to the stream. She cupped her hands, bringing the icy water to her lips. The redhead trotted to the rising tent, leaving a grubby bald man guarding them. Cain ignored the guard and pulled a dark blue bandanna from the duster's pocket, soaked it, wrung it out, and held the folded mass against the bump on her head. DG sighed, resting her hands on her thighs. The throbbing eased under the cool.

The redhead captor returned, carrying a tin mug and white paper packet. She held the bandanna to her head, so Cain took the mug and packet. "Drop a lot of people on their heads?"

"We can take it back, old man."

Cain ignored him as he poured the contents of the packet into water in the mug. He swirled the water to mix it before passing the mug to DG. "Drink all of it."

What touched her tongue was bitter, so she gulped it down fast. The worst the medicine tasted, the better it worked. She rinsed the mug out and drank some more water before giving it back. She re-wet the bandanna to restore the cool.

The other men had finished with the tent and started a fire. Now they sauntered to the group at the stream, passing a large bottle between them. _Alcohol and guns, a great combination._ The throbbing eased, either the medicine was working or the dread settling in her stomach gave her nerves something else to focus on. Her eyes met Cain's and his lips were pressed together.

"Let's have a look at what we got." The rider with the ponytail suggested after he swallowed his swig. "Stand up."

Cain glared at him while helping DG stand. The last time she had seen that expression on his face, she'd had to plead for Tutor's life. These creeps wouldn't be getting pity like that from her. Cain nudged her behind him, but the bald guy gestured with his shotgun to stop.

The five of them hemmed in her and Cain on the stream bank, blocking off escape. Ponytail man pointed to Cain. "Coat and vest. You won't need them." Cain clenched his jaw as he shrugged off the duster. The youngest looking, skinny with a mop of curly blond hair, took the duster, the belts, and the vest. Ponytail man nodded. "Somebody will want him," he confided in his men. "Not as much as the little bitch."

Cain growled and DG got closer to the Tin Man. Ponytail man took another swig from the bottle and passed it to his right. "Come 'ere, you little bitch."

DG shook her head as her stomach knotted. Cain's arm circled her waist and pulled her closer.

"Don't play tough with us," Ponytail man sneered. "Separate them."

The redhead passed his shotgun to the Ponytail man. DG dodged behind Cain, but there wasn't any room between the four men and the stream. She moved aside and the man with a short brown beard yanked her arm. She fell against him.

Cain punched the redhead in the stomach, but the skinny blond grabbed and twisted back his right arm. The redhead latched onto Cain's left arm, and punched him in the head.

The man with the brown beard gripped her upper arms as he grinned. DG kicked. His grin disappeared as he stepped back. She kicked again, hitting the side of his other leg and twisted her body to break loose. He squeezed her arms tighter. "You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" He had pulled her closer to the two men with the shotguns.

Cain bellowed with rage. That jerked DG's attention away from her opponent. They had driven Cain to his knees and held his arms out while the bald man hit Cain in the head with the butt of the shotgun.

"No!" DG flailed. She kicked both her feet while he held her up. She had to get to Cain. They had no idea what they were reenacting for her Tin Man.

A hand grabbed her black braid and pulled her head back. Ponytail man licked his lips. "Ain't you feisty. They pay top platinum for feisty."

His eyes gazing down her shirt pissed her off even more. "Let me go!" She threw her heel back to kick Ponytail man.

"Get your filthy hands off her!" Cain's shout echoed off the surrounding rocky hills.

"Gag him. I'm tired of hearing his bullshit." Ponytail man released her braid and grabbed her chin. Cain's bellows were muffled but DG couldn't turn her head to see what they were doing to him. "You need to get used to your new station in life, bitch." Ponytail man sneered as his fingers tightened. "Now stop fighting and do as you're told."

"Go to hell!" Her foot connected with the bearded man's knee, and as his leg buckled, she broke free. Another foot tangled with hers as she ran and an arm snaked around her neck, pulling her against the male chest.

"By the gods, I'm going to limp for a month!" The men holding Cain down laughed at their bearded partner. Cain pulled against their grips, ignoring the shotgun aimed at his chest. His icy blue eyes glared at her captor and his jaw worked against the dirty green scarf between his teeth.

Ponytail man's voice filled her left ear. "You need a bath after a display like that, bitch."

"Go scrub your own dirty mind!" The pressure around her neck tightened and it was hard to breathe.

His arm loosened. "Enough of that. You're going to do what you're told or we're going to shoot your old man."

DG's eyes widened as she stopped struggling. "You wouldn't."

Ponytail man chuckled. "That got your attention, didn't it? He's not worth the trouble he's already been. But it's your choice."

Her heart pounded as she looked at Cain again. The end of the shotgun looked closer to his chest. DG didn't want these creeps to see her naked, and their plans wouldn't stop there. But if they killed Cain and raped her, she couldn't escape alone. Her chances were better with Cain.

Cain didn't want her, and she knew how to deal with drunken louts thrusting into her. It was the best of their horrible options. "I'll take the bath."


	6. Chapter 6

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Six**

Ponytail man chuckled again. "Unbutton your shirt."

DG gritted her teeth. He was sure she wouldn't bolt half-naked or maybe he wanted first feel. She wished she could use her magic, but she was too agitated to grasp the power. She stared straight ahead, not at Cain, as she unbuttoned her blouse.

The water of the stream pooled at the bottom of the cascade with no sign of how deep it was. She knew it would be freezing. Maybe she'd catch hypothermia and they'd forget the whole idea. _Yeah, right. Try wishing for mobats to swoop in. That's much more likely._

Once the shirt was unbuttoned, Ponytail man grabbed the collars of it and her jacket and pulled them off. He caressed her bare shoulder, plucking her bra strap. DG jerked away her shoulder. He chuckled. "They're going to have fun with you on the block. Boots."

"They have laces." DG waited for his verdict.

To her right, the voice of the bearded man sounded panicked. "I ain't getting near her feet again!"

Ponytail man sighed. His lips grazed her ear. "No tricks, Bitch. The old man will pay for it plus you."

His arm slid off her neck. DG walked to the edge of the stream before kneeling to unlace her ankle boots. She kept her back to them, determined to keep the show they wanted at PG-13-accepted nudity. Hopefully, the waters would be deep enough to cooperate with her idea. She tugged off the boot and sock before switching legs.

"Come on, bitch, show us what you got!" DG ignored the taunt from the redhead as she stood. The rock was cool under her bare feet. She unhooked her bra and dropped it on her boots. She steeled herself for the catcalls and the cold water to come and touched the fly of her pants. She unfastened them, pushed them down with her panties, and stepped into the water. Icy cold jolted up her body. She sucked in a lungful of air when she couldn't feel past her ankles and had to go deeper.

"Damn, that bruise is going to cost us money."

"By the gods, that ass is a piece of art!"

DG gritted her teeth harder. The water was up to her knees.

"Bend over and shake it!"

"He can't stop starin'. Maybe we should help him with his stiff one."

She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. One of the pigs was probably masturbating with an actual naked woman in view.

They all laughed as she heard a scuffle on the rocks, followed by a splash. DG's fear spiked. Was one of them coming after her? The water was up to her thighs. She took a deep breath, lowered herself and paddled. When the water reached her neck, she pivoted to look behind her.

The young blond trudged to the bank dripping wet. The bearded man helped the redhead hold Cain down by twisting the Tin Man's arms behind his back. Ponytail man forced Cain to look up at him. "This will be entertaining. Hobble him back at the fire." The blond shook water off of himself. "You get rope and a blanket."

The men pulled Cain up and forced her Tin Man to walk away since the bald man pressed the shotgun against his short blond hair. The young blond trailed after them.

Ponytail man looked over the water and laughed. "Aren't you a clever little bitch?" DG's teeth chattered. She clenched them to not make the sound, but her body was not cooperating. He continued chuckling while as he gathered her clothes, throwing them into the back of the van. "Come out, you're turning blue."

The sky turned purple as the second sun eased below the horizon. She couldn't escape on the other bank naked. And she didn't know what they were doing to Cain. She rubbed her arms to warm up as she emerged from the water. The wind swept down off the peaks above them, and she couldn't stop her teeth from chattering when it hit her skin.

The blond stood next to Ponytail man holding a thin blanket and a coil of rope by the time she reached the bank. Ponytail man smirked. "That took the fight out of her." He twisted Cain's bandanna between his hands, forced the material between her teeth, and knotted it behind her head before DG could react.

The blanket itched where it rubbed her skin. While he wiped everything, he spent more time stroking her breasts and between her legs dry. She clamped her teeth on the gag. They weren't getting a reaction. He wrapped the blanket around her, immobilizing her arms, and carried her from the stream over his shoulder.

He dropped DG on her feet next to the fire. "I think she's ready, boys." Ponytail man laughed as he whipped off the blanket. The blood pounding in her ears blocked out the catcalls from the other men. Cain sat between them, gagged, and stared at her. _No, oh God, no they couldn't make him watch. They wouldn't._

Before she could protest, Ponytail man whirled her around and pushed her to her knees on the blanket. She turned her head so not to be blinded by the fire as he bent her over. He tied her wrists to her ankles so quickly, she suspected they had done this before as she tried to pull her arms free. All that did was flap her elbows. They walked away, probably admiring how with her ass in the air and knees spread apart, everything but her boobs was on display. And they wouldn't be that hard to grope. She couldn't rise or close her legs.

She blinked the tears out of her eyes before they fell. If this kept them from killing Cain. She'd submit to anything to keep him safe. Those pigs didn't need to know that. She shivered as the wind blew harder. What the hell was taking so long? She choked something that felt like a sob in her throat. She wanted to hurry along a gang rape?

"Come on, get on with it," one of them complained as it sounded like the whole group surrounded her. "I'm ready for my turn!"

"And you'll get it, so shut up!"

One of them fell to his knees between her legs and bare thighs rubbed against her ass. Shifting, his erection poked her stomach. DG bit down on the gag. _No reaction, no reaction._

"What's a matter? Can't get it in?" The group howled. "Guess he does need help after all." A foot nearly stepped on her arm when a hand seized the erection and guided it into her. DG whimpered, but she doubted they heard it over their hoots. She felt the man inside her twist his body and heard two smacks before he toppled over her. His left hand hit the ground in front of her face as he braced his weight off of her with his arms.

DG's eyes widened. She'd know that hand with the silver wedding band anywhere. It also explained why there was no frenzied thrusting. These pigs were sick! If she could grapple with her magic right now, she would blow them up. She felt Cain's rigid body trembling pressed against hers.

Ponytail man chuckled as a pair of legs knelt in her line of sight. "What's a matter? Don't know what to do with the bitch now?" Cain's growl in response vibrated against her back. "You like 'em to move more?" His hand reached under her and twisted her nipple. DG yelled through the gag, jerking away as much as she could.

His fingers followed the scant inch she had moved. "Was that enough bounce?" He twisted again. Her jerk backwards ended against Cain's hips. Cain groaned but grabbed the Ponytail man's arm and pulled it away from her.

"He's not completely dead." The hand moved to the top of DG's head and pushed. She rocked against Cain again. He shuddered and leaned his forehead against her head. She tried to stay still. The sick bastards shouldn't torture him like this.

"Hurry up! I want my turn!"

Hoof beats pounded into the dirt and DG watched Ponytail man scramble to his feet. The horse stopped and a new voice shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just having some fun." From the tone of his voice, it sounded like Ponytail man had a superior.

"With the merchandise? You idiots! They'll pay more for virgins." The speaker swung off his horse.

"The bitch is no virgin," the redhead chucked.

"She sure isn't now! Lock him in the van." They pulled Cain away from her and DG swallowed hard, feeling vulnerable. "Where are her clothes?"

"In the van," Ponytail man answered.

The newcomer knelt next to her. He cut the rope links between her wrists and ankles, but the loops remained tied around each as he hauled her to her feet. "She's injured too?" He glared at her ass in the firelight.

"That was from catching her. She tried to run."

"Save it. I want names. But nobody messes with them again. You need a toy; you buy it off the auction block." He dragged DG to the van and she stumbled to keep up. Her feet barely touched the bumper before he hurled her inside. She fell on her hands and knees. The doors slammed shut, the lock snapped shut, and his bellows at his men faded as he walked away.

"Thea?" Cain's voice choked out of the darkness.

She got the gag off. "I'm okay. I think he's yelling at them by the fire. Are you okay?"

"I'll be in a minute," he grunted. "Get dressed."

Cain hadn't been with anyone since he was locked in the iron suit. That wasn't healthy, but neither would be the blue balls. Sex was more important to guys anyway. Why not make all the rumors true? It was the least she could do after getting him into this mess. "Cain?"

"What?"

"You can finish." She followed the sound of his voice.

"What! Don't even offer yourself like that. I won't take--" he broke off, realizing she had untied the rope around his ankles.

"Take what, my virtue?" His pants were down past his knees. "That's been four years gone." She straddled his thighs and stroked up his legs to his hips. Cain's inhale hissed between his teeth. She found his hand around his erection, and replaced it with her fingertips. Tracing the veins, she continued. "And if you don't want me to do this for you, do it for me. Don't let my first time in the O.Z. be with one of those pigs outside or whoever they sell me to."

Cain pulled her flush against his chest. "Sweetheart, are you sure? Absolutely sure?" His voice shook. "I don't want to hurt you."

She rubbed against him, enjoying the fiction of his shirt against her nipples. "I've had sex before. You won't hurt me."

His mouth slammed against hers. She opened her lips as his hands lifted her onto his erection. Before she adjusted to that position, one hand moved to the back of her head and he rolled them over.

She planted her feet and spread her knees wide. His hand cradling her head made sure she didn't lie on the knot. She lifted her hips, taking the pressure off her bruised ass. Cain pulled back, checking that she was comfortable before recapturing her lips and thrusting.

He was already shaking. Her tongue danced with his as his pace quickened. He shouted into her mouth when he came and trailed kisses down her cheek to her ear. "DG, my darling girl." He rested his forehead on his forearm.

_And this was why sex isn't worth it. They get all the fun while I get the mess to clean up._ But Cain made no move to roll off of her. Had he fallen asleep? She kissed his temple and tasted blood. "You're bleeding. I better find something."

"Later." He lifted his head and kissed her again. "Unbutton my shirt."

"Why?"

The hand not holding her head ran fingers around her hip. He nudged her chin up and kissed her throat. "Because my hands are full of you at the moment." He chuckled as he kissed a new spot under her ear.

She found his buttons, but didn't undo any yet. "But you're finished?"

Moonlight trickled in through the window slits so she saw his surprised and puzzled expression when he looked down at her. "Not until you're satisfied, my darling girl." He squeezed her hip and kissed her collarbone.

She liked his lips on her neck, and didn't have the heart to tell him sex had never left her satisfied, so she unbuttoned his shirt. Once his chest was exposed, he pressed her against his skin with a sigh. He rolled them over so she was on top without pulling out of her. One arm wrapped around her back. His other hand left her head to caress her breast. "Touch me, sweetheart. Touch me."

No one had ever made that request to her, before or after sex. Hell, most times, they hadn't even bothered to get all their clothes off. Cain wasn't asking for a hand-job, which was the only way she knew how to sexually touch a guy. He pulled on her hardened nipple and she gasped as the thrill clenched her insides. She better ask before she forgot her question. "How touch you?" _Yeah, that was English._

"There's no wrong way, my darling girl." His hoarse voice broke. "I I just need to feel you." His hand on her back moved and squeezed high on her ass, above her bruise.

That was encouraging. So was the hand that moved around her neck and pulled her head down for another kiss. There was something in his voice; she rubbed his body with hers as she moved to kiss his neck like he had kissed hers, and she tried to remember. Cain turned his head to bare more of his neck. She followed the line the tendon made to his collarbone.

Before they attacked the Tower, Cain's tone was now the same as when he had asked her to save herself then. He needed her to save herself. He needed her to touch him. He needed her?

His hands caressed her back and sides, leaving tingles in the skin. Was it his touch or her thoughts making her tremble as she paused her kisses? Nobody needed her, except for the whole stop the witch thing. Cain certainly deserved better.

"My darling girl." His thumbs ghosted over her ribs under her breasts. His eyes bored into hers. "What's wrong?"

_Cain deserves the best I can give him right now._ "I'm not too heavy? I need my hands free."

He hummed interrogatively as he skimmed his hands to her thighs. He guided her knees so she knelt on top of him. She moved off her hands and traced his pec muscles. He growled and cupped her breasts with his. She combed his chest hair while he kneaded.

DG dropped her face to his chest. A pleasant tightness jolted through her when her hips rocked. Cain bit back a moan and thrust against her. He panted as he stilled himself, hardening again inside of her. Her breathing hitched, but she didn't stop herself from licking his nipple. He arched and her teeth grazed the harden nub. He stroked her breasts as she alternated between both his nipples.

"My turn." Cain pushed her upright as he sat up. He bent her back, supporting her, and embraced her nipple with his mouth. DG spasmed and whimpered. He chuckled as he sucked. He dropped his hands to her hips and pulled them closer. She mewled as a tremor went through her. "Ssh," he looked up at her face, "Don't want them to hear." He moved to her other breast.

Thinking had finally stopped. "Cain," she said.

He kissed her, stroking his tongue inside her mouth. "I think we're on a first name basis now, DG."

"Wyatt." One of his hands tilted her head to deepen their next kiss. He hardened inside her as she lifted her hips. His hand delved between their bodies, and grazed her clit. She spasmed again and screamed into his mouth.

When her scream ended, Cain pulled back so they could breathe. He ground their hips together. "My darling girl, come again for me."

"I can't." She couldn't breathe as her body rose and dropped on him without her telling it to. "I can't."

"You can, sweetheart, you will." His mouth fell on hers again. The way their bodies moved in this position hit something inside that exploded again. She was still in the waves of that pleasure when she felt Cain stiffen and shout down her throat.

His arms wrapped around her back, holding her up as her head fell onto his shoulder. "So that's what all the fuss over sex is about."

Cain nuzzled her. "If we ever find a bed, I promise to show you the fuss all night long." His voice thickened. "I want to hear you scream my name." He kissed where her neck met her shoulder. "But right now, we have to get dressed."

DG kissed his cheek before pulling away. He seemed satisfied, and she had never expected to feel this way, ever. Most of her clothes had ended up in one pile. She eased into her panties and pants with a hiss.

"Are you sore?"

"Where I was already." She felt around the shadows. "Can't find my bra or one of my boots."

"Found the boot. It bounced over here."

She finished buttoning her shirt and crawled to Cain's moonlit form. Sitting beside but with her back to him, she yanked off the rope loops and tugged on the socks and boots. Her stomach twisted. She didn't deserve to feel happy about what Cain had done to her. He was going to push her away now, ashamed of her behavior, just like everyone else. Why did she think it was a good idea to throw herself at him? She tied her laces and shifted to not sit on her bruise.

"Come here." Cain's arms wrapped around her. He picked her up as they twisted and she lay pressed against his body with her head on his chest. He sighed, squeezed her, and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Her heart hammered. His hold slackened but he didn't release her. "What are you doing?"

His eyes gleamed in the blue moonlight. "You thought I was kicking you across the van to sleep?" He sounded amused. "What kind of sex do they have on the Other Side?"

Her insides twisted and she was glad it had been so long since they ate. At least, she wouldn't be sick all over him. "Apparently, it's good whore training." She pushed but now Cain's grip turned to steel. "You must think I'm a slut fit for the Sin District."

"Why would I think that, DG?"

Tears pricked. Fine time for his observation skills to fail. "I was going to let those pigs fuck me."

"They were going to kill me." He rubbed her back. "And they tied you up to make sure you couldn't fight back." She heard the underlying rage.

"I threw myself at you." _When you're still in love with Adora,_ got caught in her throat.

His hand stroked her exposed cheek. "You could have any man in the Zone. I'm honored you picked me, even if I don't understand why."

"Honored that you're not my first, hell, not even my second?" The tears leaked out. "With a slut who dropped her pants too many time to count?" He would shove her away now seeing what she really was, worthless and used up. "The whole damn Palace watches to see who I will fuck next. Even my mother wants to buy security for the realm with my body because a creep with a title wants a slut to toy with." Her sob hit the air, and the dam inside her busted. All she could do was cling to Cain as the flood swept her away.

She washed up with his shirt fisted in her hands. Cain still held her, murmuring "Let it out. Let it all out, my darling girl," over and over. His hand stroked her spine. She took a deep inhale and he realized she had returned to her senses. He pulled back enough to look at her face. "Gods, sweetheart, what did they do to you in that place?"

"It's not a big deal on the Other Side as long as you're careful not to end up pregnant or with a disease, and I was careful. And there were only three of them in a row."

"And were only boys pretending to know what they were doing. That's being charitable. Ozma knows there's plenty of men who don't give a shit about a woman's pleasure." Cain shook his head. "But I meant the Palace."

"Glitch and Az didn't tell you all about it?"

"Maybe they would have if Ahamo hadn't been there. Jeb didn't say anything."

Her lips twitched. "I don't know what he threatened the soldiers and guards with, but I guess it would lose effectiveness if he blabbed." She closed her eyes. "It was five years ago. I had just graduated high school, my par... nurture units told me we couldn't afford college, and I was so alone. I couldn't see any future and that led to the parties with the booze, and the booze led to my three boyfriends who were only my boyfriends when it was a good time to take clothes off in the back of a pickup truck."

"Your nurture units didn't put a stop to it?"

"I didn't bring them home," she hesitated, "Wyatt." His lips twitched to a brief smirk. "By the end of the summer, I realized I wasn't changing my bad feelings, so I got the job at the Hilltop and started the classes I could afford. The only one who knew was my gynecologist 'cause what's the point in lying to your access to birth control? Dr. Anderson gave me lectures, but she never gossiped about me. So it never occurred to me to lie to the Royal Alchemist." She shuddered. "The Sorceress doing the soul suck thing was less scary. He said I should be thrown into the Sin District with the other whores. That my clothes finally made sense because I was putting my assets on display, and had I established my going rate yet? What was the House of Gale coming to? At least Az's behavior could be blamed on possession, what was my excuse? All screamed at the top of his lungs by a guy who looks like he should be Santa Claus, while I was dressed in only a robe and couldn't streak through the halls."

Tears leaked again, but Cain brushed them away. "How long did it take to get around the Palace?"

"The next day, the Queen had a meeting with me to inform me of the charms placed in my bedroom so they would know the next time I decided to act like a Sin District whore, and she would make my schedule to rule out temptations. Then the maids started asking me who was better, Glitch or you. I can't access my magic when I'm really upset, so I resorted to physical violence. You'd be surprised how fast those maids can run with me swinging a broom at them. That was a week before the Winter Festival, but they're all still thinking about it. Probably talk about it behind my back."

Cain hugged her closer and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, DG. I thought I was leaving you somewhere safe. But why did you think I'd think those awful things too?" He cupped her cheek, so she had to look at him.

The tears threatened to start again. "You're so honorable. I couldn't stand it if you were ashamed of me too."

"Honor doesn't have anything to do with body drives, as long as you behave honorably. As far as being ashamed of you for having sex before marriage," he cleared his throat, "when Jeb was born, Adora and I'd been married only seven months."

Too much emotional turmoil, not enough food or sleep, she tried to make sense of that. "Jeb is a preemie, born early?"

"Actually, he was three weeks late."

DG pushed herself up to stare down at him. "What the hell? I didn't break some horrible cultural taboo by losing my virginity?" Cain shook his head while his lips twitched. "Do you know how many nights I spent in the library researching if my control over magic was tied to it, and it's just another thing to hold against me because I'm not seven?"

"The maids just sounded curious. Can't blame them; Glitch cleans up pretty well. Nobles get worried about bloodlines and dynasties. The Commons are free to experiment. It's not encouraged but if marriage follows, nobody complains."

She wished for a handy balcony to push her mother and the Royal Alchemist off of. _They all think I'm easy just because I offended their sensibilities by having sex! With idiots who don't even live here! And they told that prick!_ Cain pulled her against his chest again. She rubbed his exposed collarbone. "Do you have any regrets, Tin Man?" she whispered. "With me?"

"I do regret one thing." She froze, except her stomach, which felt like it was sinking through the floor. Cain caressed her cheek. "No mattress. Now breathe." His chuckle rumbled under her ear. "What about you?"

"Nothing." She kissed under his jaw. "I want you to make me scream again. I'd like that." DG closed her eyes and relaxed in the safety of Cain's embrace.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Seven**

DG was in the sleep of the exhausted when the van moved again. Cain shifted them so he sat leaning against the cab wall and set DG's head in his lap. His princess muttered, but didn't wake.

He toyed with a tendril of black hair that had escaped her braid. His beautiful wounded princess; what did it say about him that the women who made his heart beat were such fighters? He smiled. Adora hadn't let anything stand in her way either. She had made his worst days as a Tin Man and as a resistor worth going through. DG made life worth living again. He knew how Adora felt the first time they had kissed. But neither of them had lived through what DG had alone. Raw was right, and Cain was going to have to be gentle with her emotions, if very little else about her.

Moving his thoughts, he pondered what to do about this situation. He'd like the six to two odds a lot better if Glitch was with him instead. Plus, their captors had a habit of sticking the shotguns in first.

DG's head moved under his hand, and she jerked harder. She blinked up at his face. "Morning?"

He glanced at the sunlight coming from behind the van. "It still is. You can go back to sleep."

She twisted her head before looking back at his face. "Is this a hint?" She sounded more blunt than coy.

"You needed a pillow. Are you always this naughty in the morning?"

"Must be the company." She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "We're moving?"

"Since the first sun rise. Did you learn any hand-to-hand combat?"

"Only if you count the waltz. Those pigs have thick boots protecting their toes. I can shoot."

"Can you get a gun away from a man who outweighs you?" DG shook her head, and Cain tucked her under his arm. "What about magic?"

"Tutor would say blasting someone was too advanced or too negative or not a dignified image or unnecessary for my station in life. After a while, I asked to see what the excuse would be." She sighed, "I got parlor tricks. I can levitate things and I learned how to manipulate locks, but I have to see it, which I didn't last night. And I can shield and put up a sound barrier."

"What you did back at the inn?" She nodded. Cain pressed his lips together. Her list hadn't sparked any ideas.

"I'm sorry to be so useless." DG stared at the floor.

"Don't call yourself that." He forced her chin up to look at him. "This is out of your realm of expertise. Out of mine too." Her hesitant smile grew wider. "How do you feel?"

"I'm sitting funny because my butt's bruised. My head stopped hurting so I can do magic. I get drained really quick."

Cain's lips twitched. "Planning what to do would be easier if we knew where we're headed."

"West?"

"There aren't any settlements big enough to hide a thriving slave trade. The Kingdom of Ev is the only other heavily populated realm, but they have a death penalty for slavery. Plus crossing the Deadly Desert."

"Could it be somewhere hidden like the Realm of the Unwanted?"

"The Realm of the Unwanted was around before the Sorceress gave it a population boom." Cain shook his head. "Damnit, these guys have an established route."

DG laid her head against him. "The rest of the kingdoms are a bunch of islands, right?"

"Right, but you can't cross the Deadly Desert in a van." He rubbed her arm as he tried to figure it out.

Her hand rested on his chest like she was afraid it wouldn't be welcome there. "What would you do if I wasn't here?"

_Not be in this mess; they wanted you._ He had enough sense not to say that out loud. "That still depends on where we're going."

DG's lips twisted. "You think we're leaving the O.Z. So they have to transfer us to something that can cross the Deadly Desert. What can we do then?" Cain stared at the ceiling. "You know I'm not a softie, and I'm not scared of those pigs. But we have to work together."

He wrapped both his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She curled into the embrace. "I'm teaching you how to fight."

"Thank you, but you know we don't have time right now."

"When did you start making sense?"

She slapped his chest. "Not nice, Wyatt. My suggestions have always made sense."

He curled around her so she couldn't hit him playfully again. "Leave those pigs to me. Stay out of their grasp, that's all I need you to do." He avoided her wide blue eyes. "I can't fight them if they have you."

Her small, callused hand cupped his cheek and turned his head to look at her. "Do you trust me?"

"Since we left my cabin."

Those brilliant blue eyes blanked a moment before her cheeks flushed. "I'll get under the van and disable it. They won't get me there. Does that help?"

"It'll leave them stranded if we can get the horses. If you get a chance to get yours back, ride back to the Great Kells."

DG bit her bottom lip. "Only if you won't freak if I see a chance to use my magic and do it."

"I can agree to that." Cain pressed his lips to hers, needing to taste her. She made a soft sound in surprise, but met his tongue as she tilted her head back. He pulled away reluctantly. "Be careful, my darling girl."

"You too, my Tin Man." He closed his eyes at the thrill going through him when she claimed him. They moved to opposite sides of the van next to the door. He tried to memorize every feature on her body: how her black bangs framed her forehead, how her wide blue eyes blanked when she tried to hide her feelings, how wide her smile stretched, how someone so small fit him perfectly. It was a poor substitute for holding her.

The van stopped but the engine didn't shut off. Cain gritted his teeth and saw DG swallow hard. Two of their captors walked around to the back. He crouched, sparing DG another glance. She stood and pressed against the wall, but smiled briefly.

The redhead and the bald man swung open the doors. Cain flung himself at their mid-sections before they brought up their shotguns. The bald man twisted away, but the redhead landed flat under Cain. He punched the jaw covered in patchy red hair before grabbing the shotgun. He swung it and hit the bald man's paunchy stomach.

He saw DG's boots disappear under the bumper as the bald man doubled over. He hit him across the back with the shotgun before snatching the second shotgun from the bald man's now slack grasp. Cain had just enough time to settle into a stance when the second-in-command rounded the corner of the van on horseback.

Raping DG last night was this degenerate's bright idea, and Cain felt no remorse pulling the trigger. The man with the long brown hair caught the blast in his chest. The horse screamed and continued running, dragging the dead man dangling from the stirrups.

The shotgun was only loaded for one shot, and the one Cain had used as a club wouldn't shoot now. Hopefully, there were more weapons in the cab of the van. The engine spluttered and died as he headed around to the front.

They had parked on the edge of the O.Z. The yellow grass of the Grasslands ended a few clicks away in a cliff dropping into the Deadly Desert. The grey sand dunes stretched out to the horizon.

A large wooden ramp descended into the grey sand. On top of the ramp was a sailboat that had two sled runners down the length of the hull. He had heard the sand-boat fleet had been destroyed.

But more importantly, their horses weren't here. "Thea, fix the van! No horses!"

"Shit!" came muffled from under the van. He let her handle the mechanical; two more men charged from the boat and no extra guns were visible in the cab.

Cain recognized the bearded man DG had kicked, so the man with the grey muttonchops must be their leader. They pinned him against the van with a punch to the kidney. Cain braced himself and punched the grey-whiskered jaw. It rocked the leader back, but he returned a blow to Cain's temple.

While his head rung, the bald man punched Cain's stomach. He doubled over and the leader kneed his head. Cain stumbled, trying to stand, when he heard someone coming on his left. He turned and saw the redhead swinging one of the abandoned shotguns. The blow to his head dropped Cain face first into the grass.

He fought against the blackness but his body wouldn't move. "Just shoot him!" the leader commanded. Cain heard a familiar cocking; one of the bastards had kept his gun.

"No!" DG screamed.

Failure tasted as bitter as blood. _I'm sorry, DG. I thought it would be different this time._ Consciousness slipped away waiting for the bullet.


	8. Chapter 8

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Eight**

After he registered the pain, Cain's first thoughts were how the childhood church classes his mother sent him to had lied. No pain in the afterlife means you shouldn't feel like you got the shit beat out of you. Why would they want to lie like that? He winced and shut his eyes against the harsh light of the suns. He tried to move his hand to shield a second attempt, but he couldn't. Now his eyes flew open, the suns be damned. He pulled his arms but they wouldn't come free behind his back. His heart pounded as he moved off the wall he leaned against.

"Don't." He heard a chain rustle and DG grasped his shoulders. "Don't, Wyatt, you'll hurt yourself. They tied you up."

He leaned back. The sail above billowed in the strong wind. They sat against a short shed built onto the floor. It was a little taller than Cain's head, but it offered shade from the suns' direct light and made the light reflecting off the grey sands bearable. The ship skimmed over the sand like it was water.

Cain turned to himself, noticing he didn't feel shot. His head ached and his wrists were secured behind his back. His feet were not bound together, but a chain ran from a shackle around his left ankle to DG's ankles tucked out of sight as she knelt beside him. "Why are we chained together?"

"Because your backside is too heavy for the crazy bitch to drag overboard." The man with the grey muttonchops tossed a water skin into DG's lap. "As it is, she's barely worth the good man you cost me."

"Yeah, he was a stellar example of humanity." DG didn't bother hiding her glare. The leader scowled harder and walked to the front, ducking under the sails and ropes.

"Water?" Cain's suggestion refocused DG's attention on him. She held the water skin and he swallowed. She drank next while he posed his next question. "They knock me out and you threatened to jump into the Deadly Desert?"

"They were going to shoot you and I didn't have many options."

"You do know that will kill you, right?"

She poured a bit of water onto his blue bandanna and dabbed the cuts on his face. "I still need empirical evidence on that one, but it scared them enough not to shoot you." He saw the tiny wobble of her chin as she looked away.

He didn't ask why she hadn't offered her body in exchange for his life. That discussion would be more emotional than they could afford to be right now. "I'm surprised you made it work after I killed one of them. How long have I been out?"

"An hour or two. We're almost across. You can see the land now."

Cain craned his neck to look between the rails. The dark line on the horizon ahead grew wider. "Did they say where we're headed?"

"No, they complained about you and talked about the guy you shot." DG shifted her seat with a smirk. "They don't think they'll get much for you."

"Today's a day I'd agree with a worthless assessment." He looked at his feet, but the chain was as strong a goad to the gnawing of failure as her face. What the hell would happen to her without his protection, as bad as it was?

DG moved closer, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and rested her head on his. "If my opinion matters, I don't think you're worthless and I'll kick anyone who says different." She squeezed. "I may have contacted Az, but I'm not sure," she whispered. "I can't access my magic in this desert."

He and DG weren't under observation, so he twisted his head and kissed her best he could. "We'll muddle through without it," he whispered back. She nodded as she let go, sitting on her knees.

There was nothing to do but watch the smudge across the horizon become recognizable trees and grass. The slavers ran the sand-boat onto the grass as they shortened the sails.

DG futilely leveraged Cain to his feet alone until the bald man took pity and lifted Cain's other side. Cain checked his stride so he didn't pull DG's right foot out from under her. The slavers escorted them down the ramp and into a tent village. There were some dilapidated buildings made out of planks of wood in a sad attempt for permanency among the canvas sea. The shacks looked like a strong gust would send them tumbling. The only stable thing was the L-shaped warehouse looming behind the tent village.

Beyond that was the sight that stopped Cain. In the spaces between the tents, buildings, and few trees, he saw the blue sky with a line of white cirrus clouds over something a darker blue.

One of the slavers shoved him in the back. Cain stumbled forward with a glare over his shoulder before continuing on the path. DG touched his arm. "I've never seen the ocean before either."

He didn't get a chance to answer before they were shoved down against the roots of one of the few trees standing. DG caught herself on her hands and knees and glared at the slavers before crawling closer to Cain. The leader finished giving his orders and disappeared into the crowd.

The people in the tent village could be divided into guards and their prisoners. Even if they could run, how could they get past all these people? He sighed and turned back to DG. "We can't run," she whispered. He shook his head. She made a face, and looked at the ocean. "What are we going to do?"

"Practice patience, sweetheart." She made another face that didn't hide the worry in her eyes. He shifted his elbows and confirmed it was metal fetters around his wrists. Maybe DG could unlock them with her magic, once it got dark.

The leader returned with another man dressed in a dark blue suit trimmed in silver cord, but shorter jacket than what was popular at court. The well-dressed man held a thin chain attached to a silver collar around the neck of the oldest female Viewer Cain had ever seen.

She clucked as she knelt next to DG. "Hurts where?"

"Show her, bitch. Let's have one more show," the redhead giggled.

The Viewer ignored him. "Can heal through clothing. No need to disrobe."

DG looked relieved. "My butt and my head. Wyatt's head too." The Viewer nodded with a small smile. She laid her hand on the seat of DG's pants and purred as DG inhaled sharply. Then the Viewer wrapped her arm around DG's head and pulled it next to her own long, grey hair. Her hand cupped the knot on the back of DG's head.

Cain watched DG's eyes widen over the Viewer's shoulder, and they stayed wide when she pulled back. "Thank you."

The Viewer nodded and copied the maneuver with him, hiding her face from the slavers as she whispered in his ear. "Protect our salvation. They sell loved ones together first." Before he could react to her words, the warm healing pain eased in the lump in his skull.

He blinked and the headache was gone. The Viewer pulled from him. "Much obliged." She nodded with a small smile on her wrinkled face. Their captors' leader paid off the man in the suit. DG looked at the ocean again, keeping her wide-eyed stare from giving anything away.

The crowd moved, guards pulling and prodding their captives toward the warehouse in front of the ocean. The leader knelt next to Cain's outstretched legs with a grunt. "They're setting up the logs." He unlocked the manacle around Cain's ankle before undoing the one around DG's. He wrapped a meaty hand around her upper arm and hauled her up. The redhead grabbed DG's other arm. "You two bring him."

The bearded man and the bald man hauled Cain to his feet and marched him behind DG. She craned her neck to make sure he was there. "Nothing funny from you," the bald man growled. "Auction day tomorrow and they'll just shoot you like a dog." He sounded sorry to miss seeing that.

Cain thought about the old Viewer's words. If they kept him and DG together as a unit to be sold, maybe they could sneak away in the night. His hope sank when he saw the line of logs set up on sawhorses. They led him to the front of one and shackled his hands to the chains nailed to the log. DG was shackled behind him on the other side of the log. She smiled when he looked over his shoulder.

The line of logs pointed down a faint road leading to the warehouse. From this vantage point, he saw that the warehouse was cross-shaped and each wing was large enough to be a warehouse by itself. He felt sick; if the slave trade was this successful this close to the Kingdom of Ev, could he and DG live to make it across the border?

It wasn't long before they were caravanning into one of the wings of the warehouse. The leader and the redhead walked with them and other captors did the same. Armed men swarmed the warehouse. A sturdy town was built between the warehouse and the docks jutting into the blue water. The masts of ships made a skeletal forest in the sky. A patrol with a pair of the meanest mastiffs Cain had ever seen passed them. The dogs strained against their leashes. By the gods, the Royals were less guarded. Cain pressed his lips together.

All too soon, they carried their log inside the long wing. This wing contained offices and the clearing house. It reminded Cain of processing captured criminals as a Tin Man but left a sour taste. The people on these logs were probably as innocent as he and DG were.

The sawhorses for the log were set in the center of the long hall and had wheels so the log could be pushed out of the way for the next one. The guards wore uniform black pants and shirts. Two balconies wrapped around the walls above them. The log settled into the sawhorse notches and Cain shrugged his shoulders. The tension didn't ease in them.

A bland man approached them. He dressed like the guards, but his pale face and brown hair blended into the sea of people until he stood next to Cain on DG's side of the log. He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses as he looked Cain over. He hummed as he skimmed his hand over Cain's arm and shoulder. Cain noticed his skin tingling but not unpleasantly.

"Slag," the bland man pronounced as he withdrew. Two of the guards in black moved in to unshackle Cain's arms.

"Come on, Sorter," the leader's muttonchops bristled. "You people pay next to nothing for a Slag. He's got a body for a Toy."

"But not the temperament." The Sorter waved the guards to take Cain before he turned to DG.

Cain dug his heels into the floor as he twisted to watch DG. The guards pulled, but he saw her jump when the Sorter did his hand pass. He had to know where she was going. The guard who had his right arm growled. "This one is asking for a softening."

"Not with an auction tomorrow," the one on the left grunted.

He missed what the Sorter said, but DG's face turned an alarming shade of white and her blue eyes widened. His heart slammed in his chest as he wrenched his arms.

The leader turned to the redhead. "Who messed with her! Which one of you couldn't keep it in your pants!"

The guards tightened their grip, but turned to watch the hubbub. "That guy won't be allowed to sell next month," the left one observed.

DG's lips moved and her eyes found Cain's. The Sorter followed her gaze and he waved the guards to return. Cain stopped straining against them as they walked back.

The leader reached over the log and grabbed DG's chin. "She's the perfect Toy! Hell, she had all my men ready to fuck her last night."

The Sorter's doughy face frowned. "It is not our policy to sell pregnant women as Toys. Too many health complications."

Cain's eyes widened. DG's blue eyes gleamed with building tears before she looked down.

"We also don't separate family units until they fail to sell." The Sorter turned to the guards. "Take them both to the Breeders section and put them in a barrier cage."

The guards nodded as DG was freed and sandwiched between two more. Cain didn't struggle and he let the guard on his left get away with muttering "pussywhipped." They were led through a central atrium connecting all the wings of the huge warehouse and herded to the wing on the left.

The floor changed from stone to metal grating with points he could feel through the soles of his boots. They climbed a metal staircase made of the same grating to the second floor.

This warehouse wing had four long rows of cells going up three levels with walkways creating balconies. Cain's skin crawled being inside the largest prison he had ever seen. A wooden stage was built in front of each cell, only taking up a third of the walkway, covered in eyebolts.

The guards stopped Cain instead of shoving him through the cell door. "Your boots."

"What's with everyone wanting my clothes? Don't you make enough to afford your own?" Cain toed off the boots, which probably saved him from getting punched, and was shoved across the wood into the stone-floored cell. DG's guards took her boots, but let her walk into the cell. She sagged and looked ill as they slammed the bars shut. Cain caught her. "You okay, sweetheart?"

She pulled out of his arms. "That...." She shook her head. "Something doesn't feel right." She pointed her finger at the lock on the door. It glowed golden for a moment before the light shoved off and slammed into DG. She rocked back, and Cain caught her limp body before it hit the floor.

He laid her on the bunk bolted to the wall facing the door, noticing it was wide enough for both of them. He pushed that aside while finding her pulse. DG groaned as she squeezed her head between her hands. "Thea, what happened? You okay?" he asked her.

"And I just got rid of the headache." She sat up with a groan. "There's a spell around the cell, so if I use my magic it backfires." She pulled into a ball and leaned against the wall.

"That Sorter guy used magic?" He moved to look back out the bars. There was another walkway among the ceiling joists and huge lights, and armed men patrolled on it.

"It felt like what Raw does when he reads you, but with human magic." She stifled her strained giggle as Cain turned to her again. "They thought you'd get put in the Slag category. Apparently, that's where they put anybody who's going to fight slavery." She glanced away, "Toys are worth the most, so I'm just a BDSM slut."

"What is that?"

Her face reddened. "What you people don't have. It means bondage, discipline, and sado-masochism." Cain cocked his head and watched her blush darken. _After last night, she's embarrassed by this?_ DG stammered out more explanation. "People who get off on hurting other people or get off on being hurt or just like being tied up."

"We have that here." Cain sat on the bunk and she didn't shy away again. "It's called sexual trust games, but you're supposed to have consent."

"Even if you bought them for it?"

"Did they say anything about this group, Breeders?"

"No," she whispered and drew into a tighter ball. "I'm sorry." He focused on her, not liking the tremor in her voice. "I didn't know. My cycle has been crazy since the Eclipse. I didn't plan it." Tears spilled out. "I don't expect anything, Cain. You don't have to make any promises. But I didn't plan it. I wouldn't do that. I'm sorry." She hid her face with her knees.

"Sweetheart, are you apologizing for getting pregnant?"

She sobbed. "I just wanted to do something nice for you. Something I couldn't mess up. And I ruined it."

Cain fought with a repeat urge to find the idiots who had introduced DG to sex and throttle them. If he showed it, DG would think he was angry with her, like she was expecting him to be. He took a deep breath before stroking her hair. "My darling girl, stop blaming yourself for what isn't your fault."

"Fine time for my biological clock to have an alarm." DG trembled under his hand. "I don't want you to be noble for a mistake. Just live your life like you want to, Cain. I don't expect anything." Her legs muffled her voice.

He quailed at how quickly she gave him up. Raw had warned him. Too bad Furball hadn't said anything about the patience required. It was awkward, but he pulled her closer and tucked into the hug so his mouth was next to her ear. "I am not like the boys you knew on the Other Side, DG. I promised you I wouldn't leave you. A baby doesn't change that." Her head moved and he pulled back so they faced each other. Tear tracks covered a guilty frown. "Stop blaming yourself for what isn't your fault," he repeated, and smirked, "Your magic is no match for the Cain curse."

"What?" She uncurled a little more.

"I better have the talk with Jeb. I'd hate to have a grandchild and not even know about it. But not like my father had with me; I thought he was just trying to scare me into keeping it in my pants."

"What are you talking about? What curse?"

He had her full attention now. "Cain men are guaranteed to get a woman pregnant if we're not married to her first. Have no clue why it takes longer after you're married."

DG pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead and made sounds attempting to be words before looking at him again. "I never thought I'd have the opportunity to quote Adam Sandler, 'but this is information that would have been more useful yesterday!'"

"I thought we were only friends yesterday!"

She threw up her hands. "So what are we now?"

"Besides parents?" Her nod was small and he hauled her into his lap. "Hell if I know. But I can't lose you." His lips grazed her jaw.

Her body relaxed, and she toyed with the collar of his shirt. "I won't end up with a litter, will I?"

"Humans don't work that way." He nibbled on her earlobe.

"Never seen the results of fertility drugs, have you?" He shook his head and rubbed his nose and lips against her throat. "Stop that, I'm trying to be serious."

"And I'm trying to use near privacy and free hands." He ran one up her thigh to the flesh of her backside and squeezed through her pants.

She rested her head against his shoulder. "Do you want a baby, this baby?"

Cain gave up freeing her libido when he heard the fear in her voice and rubbed her back instead. "I never wanted Jeb to be an only child. I'm not going to reject you or our baby. It's a miracle, not a mistake."

"I'm scared I'm going to screw up like I do with everything else. I don't want to ruin an innocent kid because I don't know what I'm doing."

"You don't mess up as much as you think you do." He inhaled her sweet smell as he tightened his embrace. "Wanting to do something differently is a strength. And everyone makes mistakes, but kids are resilient. And you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose."

She looked him in the eye. "You really believe that about me, Cain? I let the witch out, I got us captured, I can't even."

He pressed his lips to hers, cutting off her despairing whisper. "You never did any of that on purpose, my darling girl." His voice grew huskier. "And please call me Wyatt or it's going to be awkward to make love to you again."

DG licked her lips and Cain restrained himself from kissing her again. "I wasn't blackmailing you into a relationship."

"I know. But we already had a relationship, it's just changed. For the better, I hope."

"I can't lose you either, Wyatt." She pressed her moist lips against his. He cupped the back of her head. Her breasts pressed against his chest. His thumb stroked her neck while her lips parted, deepening the kiss. Her hands soothed the stubble on his cheeks before her fingers combed through his hair. He groaned as she scratched his scalp.

He wanted to go slow, to show her how much he treasured her, to savor everything they'd sped through last night. His body didn't give a damn about his wishes. His free hand ran down her back and squeezed her backside.

DG broke off the kiss with a hiss. "Still a little tender there."

"Sorry." He ran his knuckles down her cheek. "I don't want to push you. I mean, what you want is enough." Yeah, that made sense. He gripped the edge of the bunk instead. "I can't stop touching you, but I will if you want." His fingers ached with the pressure from his grip.

She shifted on his lap. He bit his bottom lip. "It doesn't feel like your hands are all that wants to touch me."

Cain breathed in raggedly. "What do you want, sweetheart? Tell me."

Most of the large overhead lights switched off with a series of thrown switches echoing in the space, leaving on only a third and filling their cell with shadows. "No warning before lights out." DG's laughter was nervous. "Can they still see in?"

"They won't see you." He let go and grabbed her hips. The material felt rough under his fingers. "But we'll have to be quick."

She landed a kiss on his neck's pulse point. "I'm used to hard and fast."

_And over before you come._ Cain growled, "Not the way I do it." He helped her stand and slid his hands around her backside and hips. Her breathing hitched as his hands reached her stomach. He kissed the hollow of her throat, unfastened her pants, and pushed them with her underwear to her ankles. His hands ran up her smooth legs, feeling the curve of her muscles.

DG trembled as he crouched in front of her. He kissed her stomach below her navel, where their child would grow. She gripped his shoulders, but slid her hands down his chest as he scooped her up in his arms. He laid her on the bunk and turned her to the wall. She looked over her shoulder. "Wyatt?"

He squeezed her hip before pulling his hand back. "Trust me." His fingers fumbled undoing his own pants. He saw her blue eyes gleaming as she watched him free his erection and crawl to her. He shoved his pants further down and spooned against her. Cain slid his right arm under DG, hugging her to his chest. She tucked her head baring her neck to his lips. She ground her hips and pressed her pert backside against his groin. He licked her throat to her ear. "Are you ready?" His left hand pulled her leg up and propped it on top of his legs. "Are you wet for me yet?" His fingers trailed down her trembling thigh to comb through her dark curls.

DG's hands clenched his forearm as he worked it under her shirt. "Keep talking like that and I will be."

He found a breast. "You like that?" He rolled her hardened nipple between his finger and thumb. She mewled and pressed harder against him. "You are so beautiful when you let yourself go, my darling girl."

"Wait." She panted as he stopped. She shuddered and a golden glow surrounded the bunk. "You wanted to make me scream, right?"

Cain growled as he scraped his teeth against her neck. He spread her swollen intimate lips and plunged his fingers into her. She rocked against him. He crooked his fingers inside and rubbed her clit with his thumb. Her moan wasn't a scream yet, but it spoke to all his possessive urges. "No one else ever made you feel like this?" He stilled his left hand to knead her breast with his right.

Her head thrashed. "You make me feel good. Never felt good before."

Cain pressed his thumb and forefinger together through her body. DG bucked against him with a cry. He pulled his hand free. She whimpered, moved to follow it, and he held her hips in place. She whimpered and twisted her head to look at him.

He rubbed her thigh, leaving a trail of her juice on her sweaty skin. "And no one else ever will." His hand left her leg to guide his erection into her. DG arched with a wordless cry and tried to shove her backside through his hips.

He held her in place again, enjoying her bare bottom against his stomach. "You are so tight." He slid out slowly before thrusting in again as he pushed her body up and down with his. "Did you know how hard it was not to take you by the fire? When you feel like this?" He squeezed her breast again.

"Take me, Wyatt," DG moaned as she thrust her hips. "Now!"

"Yes, my princess." He thrust into her harder. Her buttocks and breasts jiggled while pressed up against his body and arm. "Yes, my darling girl." He thrust again. "Yes!" He lost words as he concentrated on drilling into DG, to give her pleasure.

Her walls tightened around him as the rest of her body shuddered and she screamed his name. He shoved into her one more time before his tightening loosened into her. He cried out, claiming this woman as his without words.

He returned to his senses with DG's lips on his hand. "Wyatt," she whispered against his skin, "my Tin Man."

"Always yours." He kissed her shoulder through her shirt. The golden glow was gone. "We have to get dressed."

They parted to pull up their pants without leaving the bunk. DG's maneuver on her back with her hips in the air got her pants on quicker than he did his. She didn't hesitate curling against him when he lay down on his side. "You totally have permission to keep doing that to me. I'm telling you so there are no more awkward fishing sessions." She pressed her lips against his.

"Awkward fishing session?" he asked when she pulled back. "Is that what you call my trying not to take advantage of you?"

"Asking 'are you in the mood for sex' is a lot shorter than your version."

"You were upset, and I didn't want to make it worse." He harrumphed, but stroked her back.

"I wasn't upset with you well, not completely. Any more surprises in your genes you'd like to share? Birth defects, weird diseases?" He shook his head. "Know about any on my side?"

"Haven't heard of any." Cain closed his eyes as he hugged her closer. "There's ways to find out how the baby's developing. Don't borrow trouble."

She shifted her head and pressed her cheek against him. "I'll try."


	9. Chapter 9

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Nine**

The loud clanging of a bell jerked DG awake. Cain sighed and tightened his hold when she spasmed against him. They had turned in the night; Cain lay on his back and her front pressed against his side. She propped her chin on his chest. How could anyone look so resolute while asleep?

How did this good man see anything worthy in her? And he saw it before the possibility of a baby occurred to either of them. She sure the hell wasn't good enough for him or his child. She sent a prayer for the baby to take after Wyatt Cain because she wasn't impressed with any qualities from her family. The kid could have art or magic, but that was it.

He didn't want a one-time fling, which tore her. Part of her craved how he made her feel; part feared he would remember she wasn't Adora and turn away. She needed him more than he needed her--great sex aside. And she ruined his life again.

The bell clanged again and Cain opened his eyes. "I guess they really want us up."

"I guess so." She sat up so he could.

Cain appraised her as they resettled to stare at the bars. "You okay?"

"Just thinking."

"Doesn't look like you're enjoying it much."

She smiled slightly at his half-smirk. She couldn't be honest about her fears about them together if they were together, so she brought up her other fears. "What's going to happen now?"

He wrapped his arm around her. "Don't fight them. Odds are against us."

"Stick close to you?"

"And run when I say run." His arm tightened when they heard footsteps up the metal stairs.

Two guards stopped at their cell as the others continued down the walkway. "I hate dealing with new merchandise." The speaker gestured with an electric prod like the witch's alchemists had used. "Strip."

"What?" Cain's jaw clenched.

"The buyers have to inspect the merchandise." He gestured again. "You can get dressed after the auction is over."

Cain held up his hands. "Don't get jumpy on the trigger." He pushed DG to stand up. "Come on, sweetheart."

DG's face flamed as she turned away from the guards. Her fingers fumbled with her shirt buttons. Cain made a pile of his clothes on the bunk. She wasn't ashamed of her body, but she had never wanted to join a nudist colony. She folded her shirt half-heartedly before putting it down. _Just repeating the human figure class, that's all._ She pulled off her pants, then her socks, before dropping her panties on the pile of clothes. Nude models did this everyday. It would be fine.

"You first, big guy." Cain moved from her side at the guard's command. DG took a few deep breaths before turning around.

None of her nude models had Wyatt Cain's ass. Her mouth dried as she watched the silent guard restrain Cain's wrists behind his back. The wrist cuffs chain attached to an eyebolt on the wooden stage outside the door of their cell. Cuffs went around his ankles next keeping his legs hip distance apart as they were attached to eyebolts too.

DG's mouth was so dry, she wasn't sure if she could ever talk again. There was no possibility of running or even protecting yourself. But she could use her magic out there. To do what she hadn't decided yet, when the silent guard entered the cell and grabbed her arm.

He whirled her and had the cuffs fastened around her wrists before she reacted. A rock on a cord slipped over her head. The queasy feeling she had since entering the cell didn't end when he shoved her onto the wood. They left after her stance was chained open. She stared through the metal grating. That way she didn't see any of the other human flesh for sale. The rock between her breasts glowed. "Damn charm."

"Thea?" Cain asked softly.

"The necklace blocks my magic." DG squeezed her eyes shut. _No breaking down, not in this place._

"It'll be alright."

She glanced up. He watched the guards move down the walkway. The last time she had seen Cain naked, he had been covered in grime from the iron suit and practically comatose*. His broad shoulder curved into a bicep that was pure muscle. Pulling his arms back put his chest on display with its dusting of blond chest hair. And his abs were just as defined as his pecs. The hair trailing down his stomach and curling on his groin matched the shade of his eyebrows.

This undeniable hunk wanted to have a baby with her. And had turned his head and was watching her. DG blushed and jerked her face away, but not before seeing his raised eyebrow and smirk. "Like what you see?"

"It's a good thing you weren't a model for any of my art classes." DG stared at the metal grating. Cain hummed interrogatively. "You would've gotten mobbed."

"Did you model?"

"Nothing worth drawing about my figure." She still felt his gaze, which did nothing to make her blush fade.

"I can't believe you think that." She jerked up to look at Cain's face. "You're beautiful." His expression mixed incredulity with adoration, and he wasn't hiding either. He started to elaborate his admission, but a loud clamoring of people interrupted.

That was the only warning they had before the well-dressed people walked up the stairs to examine them like livestock. DG wished her mind would stop interpreting the sounds into a county fair. It jolted her every time, when someone interrupted her pretending to be anywhere else only to realize all over again they were here to buy her and Cain and not a new cow.

A fat woman with blue eye-shadow slathered over her eyebrows leaned into DG's face. "Just how far along are you?"

"In my first month," DG answered through her dry mouth and clenched stomach.

The woman sniffed and raised her eyebrows, lifting the blue painted skin closer to her hairline, before appraising Cain. "At least, the child will be good-looking." She stroked Cain's penis. His whole body stiffened and he glared above the woman's head. DG had seen her Tin Man give Zero gentler expressions. She longed to kick the woman right over the rail. "Maybe, maybe." The woman strolled down the walkway.

DG opened and closed her mouth without saying anything. Her gaze dropped to the floor. It was her fault he was in this predicament. He probably wished she had let those pigs shoot him. Or that she had never run away in the first place. Tears pricked and she closed her eyes to keep from crying.

Maybe there was an Underground Railroad, and if there wasn't maybe she and Cain could start it. That was a much happier thought to concentrate on.

"Why is something this pretty in the Breeders wing?" She opened her eyes to see a man dressed for a night at the Twister in front of her. He looked like a former jock, someone still muscular who didn't work at keeping it. His hand gripped her jaw and forced her head up. "Answer me!"

"She's pregnant," Cain said in glacial tone before she could.

"That's easily corrected." The buyer glanced at Cain before turning back to her. "Before her figure is ruined."

DG jerked her head out of his hand, drawing his inspection from her torso back to her face. "You're not killing our baby!"

The buyer's brown eyes flashed as his face reddened. The chains next her rattled. "You need to learn your place, slave bitch. But I wouldn't waste my money on just breaking you in." His hand wrapped around the back of her neck, pinning her face to face with him, while two fingers reached down and plunged inside of her. DG gasped and twisted, but couldn't escape the chains or his hands. Tears pooled in her eyes. The buyer smirked as he pressed his fingers further in. "But you appear to have other qualities worth paying for."

"Get your hands off of her." As scared as DG was for herself and the baby, it thrilled her to see the buyer gulp at Cain's tone.

He regained his bravado once he saw the chains holding Cain back. "She's not the only one who needs to learn her place." His hand withdrew only to squeeze her ass. She held in her hiss as the just-healed muscles and skin throbbed. Cain's icy blue eyes glittered as he narrowed them. "She's not yours," the buyer said. "Nothing is yours once the collar is around your neck." He let go of DG to look fully at Cain before twisting her nipples.

DG cried out and jerked back, but lost her balance. A hand wrapped around her left arm and another one on her back pushed her upright again. She felt the cool tingle of magic. The Sorter stepped round to face the buyer. "Sir, you need to be more careful with the merchandise."

The buyer gulped again. "Right, quite right. Won't happen again." He gestured at DG and Cain. "I'm ready to buy this lot."

"Unfortunately, this lot has just been sold." The Sorter's mouth corners turned up a fraction.

"What? Who? I'll make a better offer."

"That's not our policy, sir. You should continue shopping."

The buyer muttered under his breath as he stomped away, but DG focused on the Sorter. He ignored her scrutiny, turned to one of the guards, and took an opened band of silver from him. The guard pulled DG's braid out of the way and the Sorter closed the band around her throat. The collar was snug but flexible. "Get dressed now." The second guard unlocked the cuffs as the Sorter turned to Cain.

Cain's eyes widened at the sight of the collar. His breathing became quicker and shallower. He had never anything around his neck for as long as DG had known him. "Put it around his arm, please!"

The Sorter's eyes flicked to her before resting on Cain again. "That's not our policy."

"Screw your policy!" DG pulled herself from the guard's hold. The Sorter closed the collar around Cain's neck. Cain jerked against the chains. "Damnit!" He sunk into a crouch, gasping for air. She wrapped her arms around him. "Breathe in, Wyatt. I'm right here. It's okay. Breathe in." Air got past the obstruction in his throat. "Now out."

Cain regained control over his breathing, but DG held onto him longer than necessary. The Sorter cleared his throat. "Back in the cage now, so we can unlock him."

DG glared but since one of the guards twisted an electric prod in his hands, she didn't argue.

"Go," Cain whispered as he stood.

She retreated into the cell without any prompting from the guards, and dressed while watching them undo Cain's restraints. She saved her socks for last, so she wasn't looking at him when he walked inside and the door slammed shut. Her shirt buttons refused to line up. She started on her third try buttoning her shirt when Cain knelt in front of her. He had his pants on, which was good because his unbuttoned shirt was enough of a distraction. "You okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She gave up on the buttons.

His lips twitched. "I'm alright now. But I didn't...." His arms resting on either side of her tensed. He breathed deeply before refocusing on her face. "Did he hurt you?"

"I think he may have bruised my boobs." Cain brushed open her shirt and examined her breasts so intently she felt like she was basking under a heat lamp. "It's not permanent damage." He met her gaze with the darkest eyes she had ever seen on him. "He scared me."

"Do I scare you?"

"The only decent guy I've ever slept with? No. I'm a magnet for the wrong type, which is why I can't figure out why you want anything to do with me."

Cain stopped her babbling by pushing her knees apart and kneeling between them. His lips pressed against her left nipple and then her right. DG swallowed hard as he looked up at her again. "You saved me, made me feel again, and want to be with me. I know who's good for me." He stroked her cheek. "And no woman should be treated like that."

She had to distract him from his lingering rage, though it was nice she could count on him. "Hold me?"

He sat and pulled her into his lap. She pressed her face against him neck. The collar was as warm as his skin, but smooth against her forehead. Her hand brushed his chest hair. He rubbed circles on her back. "Tell me if I do anything to upset you."

"You won't."

"Sweetheart, I'm serious. I won't mean to but...." He fell silent and she was confident his lips twitched like mad as he searched for the right words. "I don't want to scare you."

"Wyatt, you are last on the list of things that scare me." She sat up so he could see how serious she was. "Even if you tied me up to reenact what that creep did, it wouldn't be the same. I I trust you." He smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers. "But I'm in no hurry to try out bondage."

"Me either," he chuckled. He took the edges of her shirt and matched buttons to buttonholes. "Don't know how long we got in here. Though I hate ruining the view."

"Ditto." She buttoned his shirt, leaving his top three buttons undone, and brushed her fingers against the silver collar. The skin over his jaw spasmed. "You're not going to have another panic attack?"

"I know it's there now." He finished her shirt and pulled the charm off, dropping it on the floor. He laid her head against his shoulder. "Did people on the Other Side understand what you said?"

"Most of the time. I'm sorry about all this."

"This isn't your fault. We'll find some way out."

"I hope who bought us isn't the woman who groped you."

"Me too. Guess we'll find out when they come get us."

She didn't want to bring up her fears, but as soon as he looked at her he would know she was worried. "What kind of person would want to buy a couple having a baby?"

His whole body tensed under her and the hand rubbing her back paused. "I'm guessing two types: ones who are selling people like livestock."

"And the others would be pedophiles who just want the baby." DG pressed harder against him to ease the spike of fear in her gut.

"I don't know what that means." He hugged and rocked her. "But there are people who think raping a child is acceptable."

"That's what it means."

Cain took a deep breath. "We got nine months to prevent that, my darling girl. Take one thing at a time."

She wrapped her arms around his chest. "What else can we do?"

* * *

*Reference to "Washing of the Water" by Allronix found here .net/s/4406548/1/.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Ten**

DG let Cain hold her while she sorted through her thoughts and feelings. Not even a week pregnant, and how much she wanted this baby surprised her. She had never given serious thought about having kids, but fear had steeled her spine when that creep had proposed an abortion. And the thought of someone waiting to rape her child made her sick.

But then, she knew she would keep the child even if Cain rejected them both when the Sorter had asked her who the father was. She had dreaded admitting it to Cain as much as she dreaded explaining it to her family and Jeb. Cain had surprised her by saying it was his fault, but she doubted anyone else would be so understanding.

Get out of this mess, and send a letter to her parents after the kid is born, an untraceable letter. After all, they did deserve to know about the baby's existence.

She was about to ask how the postal system worked when the guards returned. "Time to ship out."

Cain held her hand as they approached the open door. The guards gave back their boots and flanked them as they took them downstairs. They led her and Cain to the opposite end of the warehouse from their entry point. Other men, women, and children--her heart panged--were being herded into wagons or chained to logs again.

The guards stopped them in front of a long wooden crate. "Get in."

DG stared at the coffin-like box. "You're kidding."

The guard sparked his prod. "Do I look like I'm kidding? Get in."

She started shaking and couldn't stop. Her feet wouldn't take one step closer to the crate. Breathing was getting harder. The guard brought the sparking wand closer, but Cain scooped her up before the guard touched her. "She's claustrophobic."

"Not my problem," the guard snarled. "Your owner wants you delivered in a box. Now get her in there!"

DG stopped breathing as Cain stepped closer to the crate. "Thea, breathe in. Now out." She tried, but not much air trickled into her lungs through the logjam in her throat. "It's alright; I'm here. Breathe in. Let it out." He sat them in the crate and laid her down beside him.

She clutched Cain, not seeing the wooden slats but smooth green marble instead. The coffin was moving, rolling her body against the sides and Cain.

Arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest. "Breathe in!" barked into her ear shocked her into inhaling Cain's scent and she felt safer. "Now out. Good, sweetheart, good." His hands kneaded her back as she continued to breathe. "I'm here, it's okay. There's plenty of air."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She realized his shirt was wet with her tears.

"Just keep breathing. I don't think we have to go far."

DG did what Cain said and concentrated on making sure her lungs filled. She hated being this pathetic. Cain wasn't going to trust her to walk by herself after this episode.

The creaking of the wooden wagon finally ended and the shouted instructions of men replaced it. The crate moved again. Cain braced himself and she tightened her hold on him. But neither of them was prepared for the drop. Cain grunted at the jolt, but DG shrieked.

"Hey, there's people in this one!"

Sunlight blinded DG when the lid was pried open, and she felt two hands yank her out. "And I thought the Captain didn't hold with the slave trade." She blinked and the speaker's sneering face came into focus. He leered at her body but all DG saw was the scar down the left side of his face from his forehead across his eye and down his cheek. It was so thick only the right side of his mouth turned up into a half-grin. "You boys take care of the rest of the cargo. Me and the slave bitch are going to bugger."

Cain jumped out of the crate before the other men present reacted. He pulled DG away from the scarred man. "Get your hands off my wife!"

She stumbled from them as Cain swung his fist. They were on the deck of a sailing ship with the sails rolled up. Three other sailors gaped at her, Cain, and the scarred sailor.

The scarred man rocked from Cain's punch, but he straightened with a growl. "Your wife? You're a slave, you don't have a wife anymore!" His fist connected with Cain's jaw, followed quickly with a blow to his stomach. Cain roared and tackled the scarred man.

The other three men pulled Cain off the scarred man. "Hodges," said the one holding Cain's shoulders back, "are you okay?"

"Bastard attacked a free man." Hodges backhanded Cain's face. "I'll show you what your place is!" He punched him again, causing Cain's temple to bleed anew.

DG whirled, looking for anything that could be a weapon. She grabbed a long stick out of the pile of boxes and barrels. It had wadding around one end, like a giant Q-tip. But it gave a satisfying thump hitting the man holding Cain's right arm. "Leave him alone!"

Cain wrenched his arm free, landing a haymaker on the black sailor with dreads on his left. Hodges punched him in the side, but Cain landed a blow on Hodges' wide nose. The guy who had held Cain's shoulders pounded Cain's upper back and kicked him onto his knees.

The man with the braided, black beard DG had hit whirled. "Crazy bitch!" He grabbed the stick and yanked it toward him, jerking her along. She pulled back, but he slapped her face. The blow forced her to the deck. Before she could pick herself up, someone grabbed her braid and hauled up her upper body.

She kicked back and her foot drove into a leg. He let go of her hair and she turned, landing on her butt ready to jump to her feet. Hodges grabbed her shoulders. DG kneed his stomach.

He shoved her back against the deck. "Looks like a change in location of the buggering." His hands grabbed the collar of her shirt.

DG smacked her knuckles into skin Cain had already bruised. Hodges howled and slapped her. Her head twisted and she saw the other three men hitting Cain, forcing him down to his knees. It was the time loop projection, only with sailors. Hodges ripped her shirt open, grabbed both her wrists in one hand, and pulled her arms above her head. She thrashed, but couldn't knock him off. "Both you slaves are going to learn your place!"

Cain's bellow jerked her attention back to him. Her Tin Man's bloody face twisted with fury. But his haunted icy eyes squeezed her heart. He screamed again, heaving to break out of the sailors' holds. The black man hit Cain again to keep him on his knees. She thrashed harder. She had to free Cain.

"Breaking the code!" Someone much smaller jumped onto Hodges' back. Hodges released her to shake off the new attacker. DG scrambled toward Cain, but turned to keep Hodges in sight, trying to crab walk across the deck.

He tossed the child off his back, and the Viewer girl in a shirt and Capri's landed on her feet and hands in front of DG. "Damn animal!" he said.

The Viewer snarled, "Breaking the code!"

"Hodges, the Captain!" The man with a long blond mustache holding Cain yelled in warning.

The deck vibrated with running footsteps. Hodges turned to face the runner, and caught the hilt of the sword with the scarred side of his face. He fell back and DG looked up at the new arrival.

Her wavy brown hair fell loose around her shoulders from under a leather hat from a _Three Musketeers_ movie. She wore black pants with thigh-high leather boots, and a red cloth vest worn over a white, long-sleeved shirt. A thick, brass cutlass hilt covered her entire hand; no wonder she didn't mind punching with it.

Hodges spit blood and a tooth onto the deck before rolling onto his back. He drew his head back as the cutlass point hovered under his chin. "What the hell are you shrill-gorged pignuts doing?" she shouted without taking her eyes from Hodges.

The Viewer stood. "Broke the code, Captain. Attacked a woman."

The Captain's brown eyes flicked from Hodges to DG and then the men holding Cain. "What do you have to say about that, Hodges?"

"She's a slave, not a woman."

The Captain cocked her head and the sun reflected off the brooch pinning the brim up on one side. "But she's not your slave."

Hodges gulped. DG crawled to Cain. The other sailors still hadn't let him go. But Cain's haunted eyes didn't seem focused on anything in front of him, not even her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Wyatt." His arms strained against the sailor's grips.

"What's the story here?" the Captain asked behind DG. "What are you three curs doing with him?"

The black sailor shook his dreads out of his face. "He went crazy, Captain Blood-rage. We thought he would kill Hodges."

"And you stopped him, why? Let him go." The sailors stepped back. Cain wrapped his arms around DG and hid his face on her shoulder. She hoped they didn't see his trembling. "Sprite, take them to my cabin."

"Aye, Captain." The Viewer girl tugged on DG and Cain's shirtsleeves. "Come with me, Sad man, Scared lady." DG pushed under Cain's shoulders. He climbed to his feet, and circled her waist with his arm. Sprite took DG's other hand and led them around the center mast to a wooden-grate-covered hatch and a set of stairs leading into the ship. They stopped on the first floor down and went into a room lit by a glass-covered skylight. They walked between the six cannons parked in front of shuttered portholes, three on each side of the ship, until they reached the double doors to the room at the end of the ship.

The back wall was a span of windows set above a row of cabinets. A round table with chairs sat in front of the cabinets. A large bed filled the wall space between the left corner and the doors. A small room jutted into the larger space on the right, creating an almost hallway before you reached the table and chairs. Sprite tugged them to the table. DG sank into a chair and Cain knelt in front of her, laying his head in her lap. He shook as his arms hugged her waist.

The Viewer child dug into the cabinets talking to herself or to them, DG wasn't sure. "Sad man, Scared lady need food. Bad men no feed. Captain has food in cold box."

DG turned back to Cain, whose deep breathing was calming his shaking body. She combed her fingers through his short, blond hair. "It's alright. It's over, Wyatt."

"Why can't I keep my wife away from men who want to hurt her?" His voice was muffled but it still came out too clearly.

Her heart pounded. "Wyatt, who am I?"

He looked up at her in confusion. "My darling girl." He kissed her on the lips. He wasn't flashing back and turning her into Adora, so what the hell had he meant? Her hand caught his stubble-lined cheek as he eased apart her lips.

Sprite dropped a metal plate onto the table. "Kissy face later. Feed bellies now."

Cain ruefully pulled back from DG. "Bossy little girl, aren't you?"

"Yes," she answered as she set two pewter goblets on the table next to the platter of cubed cheeses and fruits. She pulled a pitcher out of a cabinet and filled the goblets with water. "Eat. Don't you know you're hungry?"

DG took a bite out of an apple to appease the young Viewer. But the sudden clenching in her stomach kept her chewing. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.

Cain picked up a cube of cheese as he stood. His haunted expression was replaced with concern. "You okay?"

"I'm having a lovely vacation. We really should thank our travel agent." She knew retreating to sarcasm was an iffy proposition, but damn it; she was pregnant, sold to the highest bidder, locked in a coffin again, almost raped again, had to see Cain get beaten up in person, and now he was way too close to the edge of a breakdown, and calling her _wife_ in front of people. She was entitled to sarcasm.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for worrying about you and the baby."

"Baby?" Sprite darted to her side. "You're having baby? Can I see?" The small hand touched her belly before DG finished nodding. She was younger than Kalm by a couple of years. The cool tingle of magic flowed between them. "Baby fine, but not much of a baby."

DG grinned at Sprite. "It just happened. The baby has a lot more growing to do."

Cain choked on his cheese and washed it down with the water. Sprite addressed DG with mischief in her golden cat eyes. "Sad man thinks I'm too young to know about mating. He'll learn. Sailors never stop thinking about mating, last time, next time, perfect time."

"My name is Thea. What's yours?" DG didn't look at Cain's brick red face.

"Sprite 'cause waters sing to me and the Captain says easier to spell than Oceanid."

Sprite didn't have a collar, but no one had said if Viewers lived outside the O.Z. either. "The Captain named you?"

"Somebody had to. Humans can't say real names." DG filed that under something to ask Raw about when Sprite touched her chin to turn her head. "Make face better? Make Sad man feel better too."

Now with her attention on it, she felt the throb of the bruise across her cheekbone. "Yes, please." Sprite cupped her cheek and DG closed her eyes, feeling the warmth seep into her skin. She opened them when Sprite removed her hand. "Thank you."

"Welcome." Sprite craned her neck up at Cain. "Fix you too?"

Cain shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Red stuff should stay inside." Sprite turned her incredulous expression to DG.

"Can you bring a clean, wet cloth and some soap?" Sprite nodded and opened the door into the room across from the bed. DG brushed her hands free of any crumbs before giving Cain a gentle push to sit. He did and pulled her closer by her hips. "What's wrong?"

"My head's not a good place for a child to be in right now."

DG tilted his head back to take in his bloody temple, lip, and cheekbone and the bruises along his jaw and cheekbones. His stubble prickled her fingers.

The icy blue eyes watched her face. "You that bothered by the damage?" he asked.

She stuck her tongue out at him and took the washcloth from Sprite. "I'm sure you've had worse injuries but I don't want to hear about them right now." She tilted his head to clean the temple first.

He closed his eyes. "I can't believe you found a stick."

"Stop picking on my weapon of choice." She huffed and he smirked. The doors opened and he jumped up, blocking DG from the arrivals. She craned her neck to see the woman the sailors had called Captain and an older man with shoulder-length, white hair enter. She held her damaged shirt closed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, I have given you guys mystery, angst, romance, smut, mortal peril, nasty bad guys, naked Cain, and now PIRATES! And I've only had three readers who care enough to comment on every chapter (big smooches to Rissy James, luckywynner86, and CinephileSandra), a few readers who have just thrown out one review so I don't know if they are still reading or if I lost them, and one reader who admitted to me that I scared her off (which is cool, I'd rather know).

What more do I have to do to get a response from the silent minority who are driving up the hit count but don't tell me if you like or hate what I'm doing? For Poseidon's sake leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Eleven**

"I swear more of their brains leak out each time we make port." The Captain was between DG and Az's ages and was probably more muscular than either of them. She Frisbee-tossed her hat onto the bed and smirked at Cain. "Stand down, she's not my type."

The annoyed grimace Cain shot DG was fleeting on his face. He shifted into a less defensive stance but didn't sit down.

The Captain dropped a leather bag on the table in front of DG. It clinked, betraying metallic contents. "Our hospitality stores are running low. Sprite, go fetch the basket I dropped on the deck." The Viewer girl assented and ran out. The Captain hung her sword belt and the now sheathed cutlass on the back of the chair before sitting. "I'm sorry for the welcome you got aboard my ship. I'm Captain Betsy Bobbins and this is my Quartermaster, Hank Jenkins." The man nodded as he took the last seat, leaving the one next to DG for Cain. He looked to be in his sixties and his bushy mustache drooped with unhappy resignation.

"I'm Thea," DG faltered under the woman's brown-eyed gaze.

"And I'm her husband, Wyatt Cain." He rested a hand on DG's shoulder.

"They know that now." Betsy fought not to grin. "That's your compensation from Hodges. The rest of the crew should keep their hands to themselves now."

DG opened the bag to reveal a mix of gold and silver coins. Sprite set the basket in front of Betsy and scurried to the cabinet for more tableware. A ham and two long loaves of bread joined the remaining fruit and cheese.

"Compensation?" Cain asked.

"The crew agreed to abide by the Captain's code," Jenkins answered. "The code forbids attacking a woman."

"Normally the punishment is castration." Betsy carved the ham with gusto. "However, Hodges had enough to buy his balls off the block. The money is yours."

DG glanced at Cain. He had no answers for her confusion. "But we're slaves?"

"It's up to your master what you can own, lass." DG thought Jenkins' accent was familiar, but she didn't know from where.

"And losing the money hurts Hodges more than losing his balls would, so you get the money." Betsy handed a plate with a ham sandwich to DG.

"You bought us?" DG asked. Betsy nodded. "Why would a bunch of pirates want us?"

"Now the word _pirate_ has so many negative connotations. I prefer _freelance procurement specialist_."

"Or privateers," Jenkins added.

"You have to work for a government to be a privateer," DG said.

"Name one and I'm sure we have a letter of marque from them." Betsy handed the next sandwich to Cain, who sat again. "Truth is I need a witch and the opportunity to buy you three fell in my lap." Jenkins took his sandwich with a scowl. "Oh stop it, I already answered your objections."

DG swallowed her bite of sandwich before chewing it completely. "I'm not a witch!"

Betsy's eyes narrowed. "You can't work magic?"

"I can do some. I haven't had much training. But that doesn't make me a witch!"

Her hard look eased. "I don't care what you call yourself, witch, warlock, mage, whatever. I need a magic user to get the treasure I seek. Help me and I'll free you two and drop you off at the port of your choice."

"And what if we don't want to help?" Cain asked.

Betsy leaned back. "I get my money back from the Sorter and you two will be separated for next month's auction." She smirked at Cain's glance at the bag. "There's not enough there to buy the baby's freedom."

"We need to discuss this." DG pulled Cain away from the table, ignoring Betsy's sure-keep-your-pretensions smirk.

It took Cain a few deep breaths before unclenching his jaw. "I don't want to agree to this."

"I don't want to either, but I don't want to go back to that jail more." She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Use your magic to get this off." He gestured at the silver collar.

"I don't think that's a good idea." It seemed too easy and after many movie lessons, she knew easy never worked.

But Cain's lips twisted with annoyance. "Just try it."

She put her hand on the collar. Biting her lip, she summoned her light. The jolt of magical feedback burned her hand. Cain flew backwards and hit the wall. "Wyatt!" she screamed. He slumped to the floor.

"Shite!" Betsy pushed DG into Jenkins while she and Sprite knelt next to Cain. "He just had to test that."

"Sad man very stubborn, Captain."

"Who on this ship isn't?"

Jenkins pushed DG into her chair, and sitting made it easier to see Cain's prone form. "I killed him!"

"I suspect it'll take more than that to kill him." Cain groaned and Jenkins patted her shoulder. "See, coming to already."

"For the record," Betsy grunted, pulling Cain to his feet, "you can't get the collars off by force or magic. They will only release when I say my secret word. So no more macho stunts, they upset your wife."

Cain stumbled into his chair. Sprite had taken the opportunity and healed his battered face. The Viewer child leaned against DG. "Back shouldn't hurt in morning."

"Thank you." DG squeezed Cain's knee. He gave her a rueful half-smirk. She smiled, feeling her heartbeat return to normal. "I guess we're in."

"Great!" Betsy grinned.

Jenkins shook his head. "What's your experience with boats?"

"Only a passenger," Cain answered.

"My first time on one." DG tried not to look as sheepish as she felt.

Jenkins' expression matched the one DG's etiquette teacher always leveled at the wall before muttering, "What have you given me to work with?" Betsy answered the look. "So they're landlubbers. I've waited for a year."

"Everyone on board pulls their weight. The crew won't like preferential treatment, and Hodges will egg on that discontent."

"The deal is struck." Betsy finished her sandwich. "They need quarters with some privacy."

"And how am I supposed to explain that to the men?"

"Tell them if they ever get a woman crazy enough to sail with them, they'll get the same consideration." A knock against the door stole Betsy's attention. "Enter."

A young man with dark skin smoothed his tied-back hair. "Captain, you wanted my report?" He looked at DG and Cain and pressed his lips together.

"It's alright, Spencer. The Cains are joining." Betsy leaned her elbows on the table. "Did you find her?"

He shook his head. "No, Captain, ma'am. None of the ships here is the one from Pingaree."

Betsy raised her eyebrows at Jenkins. "That makes six. Still think we should wait?"

"My vote has always been sail to the other side of the world," Jenkins said as he crossed his arms. "Not that you ever listen."

Spencer rocked from side to side. "There's another thing, Captain. Cooky lost a bar fight."

"How much did he lose?" Jenkins asked.

"Lost it all, Mr. Jenkins."

Betsy turned her attention back to DG and Cain. "Mr. Cain, can you cook?"

Cain raised his eyebrows. "Trail food."

"Close enough." Jenkins stood up. "Come on, Spencer lad, we have to build some quarters."

Betsy waited until the door shut before heading to the cabinets. "Few minor details before we leave port. Have you had enough to eat?"

"I'm full," DG answered.

"Aren't you going to help your man?" Cain glared at Betsy's back as she dug into the cabinet closest to the table.

"Lost it all means you're dead in Mount Cove. Besides, Cooky had a lousy temper. He probably started it." She grunted as she pulled out a foot-long chest. "Now that you're fed, we need to move onto washing up, clothes, and your story."

DG glanced at Cain. "Our story?"

"My men have the collective intelligence of ill-tempered sea bass, but eventually they will notice a wedding ring is not on your hand." DG snatched her left hand off the table. Betsy pushed the unlocked chest in front of them. "Find some matching jewelry."

DG glanced at Cain, guilt clawing at her insides. He didn't want this and was too damn noble to admit it. She dived into the chest of jewelry, looking for a plain silver band. Unfortunately, Betsy had lots of gold in a box that was only one-fourth full.

"You mentioned clothes. They gave you our things?" Cain asked Betsy.

"That stuff is long gone with the slavers who sold you to the Market."

DG dug deeper. If Jeb meant the most to Cain, his gun came in a close second. He hadn't let her give him a new gun as a thank-you after the Eclipse. She winced into the box. How much more was she going to take from him?

Betsy moved to a larger trunk at the foot of her bed. "Thea's about my size, so she can have some things of mine. You're harder. I have a shirt that will fit, but you'll have to buy pants in Kingsport."

"You're going to let us go shopping?" Cain asked.

"I don't see the point in treating you inhumanely just because I own you. You have money, you can buy things. Though with shipboard lifestyle, it's best not to own too much."

Cain snorted in response. DG paused in digging to deal with the rings caught on her fingers. "When did you get so picky about jewelry?" he said over her shoulder, making her jump. "What's wrong with these?" He plucked two rings made of a thin gold wire braided into a larger band. His larger hand picked up her left and slid the ring on her finger, a perfect fit. He frowned at his own band before twisting off the silver band and dropping it into the money bag. "You get cleaned up first."

DG nodded, and followed Betsy through the door into the most compact bathroom she had ever seen. "The hot water tank isn't very big, so rinse, shut it off while you suds up, and rinse off again to leave Mr. Cain some hot water." Betsy hung the clothes on a hook on the door and left.

She watched her face as she unbraided her hair in the gilt-framed mirror. The golden yellow towels and rug on the floor were a few shades off from matching. The sink counter and toilet were sturdy when she tested them while undressing. She followed Betsy's directions in the corner shower and discovered the pirate captain liked cucumber melon soap.

The new pants were looser than the pair she had been wearing and the legs ended mid-calf. The white shirt poofed around her body, and luckily, it had a normal collar instead of a lacy ruffle. But the black and blue striped vest that tied closed in both the front and back, she couldn't figure out how to put it on.

Betsy smirked as DG exited. "You have the bodice too loose." She took charge of the vest while Cain took his turn. "Tie it tight and it will hold your breasts up without needing anything else." She made sure the front edges met and tied the lace before turning DG around to tighten the back. "Just untie the front, and you won't need anyone to help you."

DG pulled her wet hair over her shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're helping me. Mr. Cain says you're from beyond the desert, the O.Z. Is it true?"

DG blinked. "Wyatt doesn't lie." _Except about who I am and his feelings_, she amended to herself.

Betsy pulled the black laces snug. "No, about the Sorceress. I asked him if it was true she had the fashion taste of a dominatrix and he turned beet red and refused to answer. So did she?"

She wondered how long Cain could keep up his stoic facade. "When Princess Azkadellia was possessed, she wore a lot of leather and corsets. She doesn't dress that way now."

"Possessed? We heard she was exterminated not exorcised." Betsy tied the laces and stepped back.

The bodice compressed her boobs but didn't have boning molding her body like the stupid corsets. "An evil witch possessed her. The Princess was freed and the witch died," DG explained.

"It couldn't have been pleasant, but I'd take dressing like a dominatrix over demonic possession."

DG watched the pirate drop into a chair as she warred with needing to ask. "How did you end up captain of a pirate ship?"

"Only career path available for someone with my education." The brown-haired woman ruffled Sprite's hair. "Which reminds me, we need to send you to a better school."

"Happy where I am." Sprite wiped off the table. "Still on my journey, and Captain needs me."

"I want what's best for you too, fuzzy one."

Cain exited the bathroom wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt. The collar was supposed to tie close but he let the linen ties dangle on his chest. DG looked away, her throat tight. It wasn't right to want him so badly when he wasn't hers. When she had done nothing but ruin his life, even before she had known him. He stood next to her, but she couldn't look up. He held a black-handle razor out to Betsy, but she waved it away. "Keep it. You need it more than I do."

The giver of the rapid knock barely waited for Betsy's permission before opening the door. "We nearly got their quarters done if you're through." Jenkins leaned against the doorjamb.

"Fine. We're heading to Kingsport on the tide."

Jenkins frowned. "But trading will be increasing around the Isle of Pharee this time of year."

Betsy raised her eyebrows. "Kingsport on the tide."

"Can't blame me for trying to keep your head out of a noose." DG and Cain followed him out of the Captain's quarters.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Everybody coming out of the woodwork did my spirit good. I'd shout out names but I have to leave soon for a doctor's appointment. So please keep reviewing!


	12. Chapter 12

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twelve**

The ship was bigger than the sand-boat, but more primitive than the steam boats Cain had crossed the lake around Central City in. Jenkins led them past the cannons. "What's the name of the ship?" DG asked from between the two men.

Jenkins glanced over his shoulder. "_You and What Navy?_."

Cain snorted. "Cocky much?"

Jenkins shrugged as he led them past the stairs. "She used to be called the _Lady Washington_, then the _Interceptor_. The Captain decided she needed a new name for her new life."

"You've known the Captain for long?" DG asked as they ducked under ropes and took the path down the center of the ship.

"Bout five years now. She's crazy like Jack, but you're in good hands." He looked at the men hanging in the hammocks strung from the beams. "Mostly good hands. In here first."

"Crazy like who?" Cain asked as they stepped over the threshold into a bedroom.

Jenkins waved the question away. "Forget it. You wouldn't know who he was anyway." DG pressed herself next to a guitar hung on the wall. "My job as quartermaster is to represent the crew, settle disputes, and act as the bank." He gestured to the bag Cain held and moved to the table nailed to the curved wall. "They'll be trouble enough with your wife. No sense asking for theft too." He rooted around the contents of a few drawers before pulling out a small piece of cardstock on a string and a pen. "Put your name on this for your bag and I can put it in the safe trunk with the rest."

"Safe trunk?" DG echoed. Jenkins pointed to the metal monstrosity, made of the same thick steel like a portable safe only shaped like a trunk with a curved lid, which rested at the foot of his bunk. "What stops someone from running off with the whole thing?"

"The lock can only be opened if the quartermaster turns the key." Jenkins chuckled, "Say what you will 'bout magic, but I've noticed there aren't many bank robberies. Now to keep you out of trouble, lass."

"I'm not messing with anything. I don't want us to sink."

"Good idea, but I'm more worried about the crew messing with you."

Cain looked up with a scowl and saw DG frown. "But the Captain said they'd leave me alone now."

"And most of them will, but any one of them would take an opportunity if they saw it."

"Anyone you're already suspicious of?" Cain passed the labeled bag to Jenkins.

"Hodges has been a thorn since he boarded and he holds a grudge. He can't get the best of Betsy; he's tried. He might decide you're a better target for his frustrations." He smiled kindly at DG's panicked expression. "Stay close to your man, me, the Captain, or Sprite in a pinch. And hopefully we'll complete this voyage before I have to play midwife again."

DG nodded with a hard swallow. Cain's scowl deepened. He didn't want that scarred pirate lunging out of the shadows at her with one thing in mind.

Jenkins added their money bag to the pile of labeled bags. "Alright, this way." He hung the key around his neck after relocking the trunk safe. He tossed his cloth cap onto the bunk, revealing his bald top as they left. They headed to the front of the ship. Hammering echoed up from the floor below. He led them down a second set of stairs, below the water line, and threw open the first door. "It used to be a storeroom for provisions, so pay no mind to the barrels and crates. We'll eat them down and they'll be out of your way." They entered a room smaller than Jenkins'. The crates and barrels were stacked all the way to the ceiling and filled half the space. Half of the remaining space was taken up by a built-in bed large enough for two people.

The dark-skinned young man who had met them earlier finished nailing the last of the shutters walling off the bed. He tested how the pair swung before turning to Cain and DG with a shy smile. "I hope it pleases."

DG's smile was strained. Cain pressed his lips together. Was her claustrophobia striking again? "It's fine, thank you," he answered as graciously as he could manage. It wasn't the kid's fault after all.

"This is Inge Spencer, the ship's carpenter," Jenkins said. "Spencer, this is Wyatt Cain, who's taking over cooking, and his wife Thea, who's helpin' the Captain navigate on her special quest."

Spencer nodded. "I'm next door." He brightened when he saw their folded clothing. "If it's not forward to offer, I have scrap lumber. I could build you a trunk for your belongings. T'would be no trouble to make it, especially after the welcome you and your wife received."

DG kept her eyes fixed on Spencer and widened her false smile. "Only if it's no trouble," she answered.

"Gives me something to do between leaks." Spencer nodded to both of them before leaving with his tools.

Cain took the folded clothes from her and placed them next to the bed with his own. "Leaks?"

"He means in the hull," Jenkins explained. "I'll wake ya when it's time to start breakfast." He closed their door behind him, leaving them alone in the tiny room with a lantern hung from a beam across the ceiling.

DG threw up a sound barrier before whirling to face Cain. "Wife!"

His eyes widened at her alarmed tone and her frightened expression. What had upset her? His eyes narrowed. "What was I supposed to say to make them leave you alone?"

"The truth?"

"Get your hands off my pregnant lover? You'd rather I insult you and the baby?" He frowned as she started to pace across the tiny space.

"I told you I didn't want a noble sacrifice from you!" DG's fists jerked up to her head and down again.

Cain leaned against the bed with a sigh. "Where did you see us going, DG? Where did you think it would end? I told you I couldn't lose you."

She slumped against a stack of crates. "You don't want me to be your wife; you're just doing it because of the baby."

His lips twitched madly. He was tired of getting shoved in with everyone who had hurt her. "Damn your stubbornness!" She gaped at him. "Don't get me wrong, you saved the world because you were too damn stubborn to give up. But when you get a stupid idea fixed in your head, you won't listen to anyone. And I know you aren't gonna believe me either."

"That's not true!" She crossed her arms.

He glared at her. "I love you."

Her face blanched like he had just slapped her. "Don't play around with that. You don't love me."

"I have loved you since Central City." He stepped in front of her. "I tried to concentrate on getting Zero, but as soon as I heard you were in trouble, all that mattered was saving you."

Her mouth open and shut a few times before she shouted. "You don't love me. Nobody loves me! My own parents threw me away!" She gasped and covered her mouth. Her blue eyes filled with tears.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "I know, my darling girl, I know."

She clutched his shirt as the tears leaked. "I shouldn't have said that. They saved me."

Cain snorted. "Stop trying to talk away your instincts. They saved your life, but they didn't try to neutralize the witch. They didn't take steps to delay the coup, hell, they left you in the dark and expected you to save the day. And they've done nothing but manipulate you since you learned the truth." He shook his head above hers. "You have lots of reasons not to trust your parents, DG. I just don't know why you think I'm going to throw you away too."

DG pushed but Cain wouldn't let her go. "All I've done my entire life is ruin yours! Even before I knew you I ruined your life!"

"Present circumstances could be a heck of a lot worse." He stroked her hair. "I don't think my life is ruined."

"But... but I let the witch out." He winced at the despair in her voice.

"And you think the O.Z. should drop you into the Deadly Desert for it. If you hadn't let her out, and you still ended up being the only one with enough magic to stop her, would you have fought her?"

She twisted her head to look at him. "Of course, it was the right thing to do. No one deserves to suffer like the O.Z. was suffering."

"And I would have joined the Resistance against a tyrant who took the throne by force no matter what." Cain looked down, not hiding his love for her. "Please stop blaming everything on a child who was tricked while trying to help someone." His hand moved under her damp hair and massaged her neck. "I know it's hard to forgive yourself for what you feel was in your power to change. But until you do, you'll have no peace."

Her mental struggled tightened her muscles. He continued to knead her neck and shoulders. "You're fighting dirty," she said as her head slumped against his chest.

He chuckled. "Just getting past your stubbornness. I hope some is sinking in."

"I have no right to you."

"What do you mean?"

DG cringed. "It doesn't matter."

Cain held her at arm's length. She didn't meet his eyes. "I think it does. What did you mean?"

"You're too good to me. I don't deserve you."

"And why would you think you have no right to me?" She stared at the floor. "You promised you would be honest with me."

She flinched and her voice sounded thick with unshed tears. "I have no right to you because you're not ready to move on from Adora."

Cain tilted her chin up but she jerked it free and continued to look at the floor. He crouched until he was in her face again. "What in the gutters of Central City gave you that idea?"

She blinked to keep from crying. "You never took off your wedding ring and then you only took it off for my cover story since I'm the only one who needs a secret identity and I was trying to find one to match it so you wouldn't have to lose that too. And--." Cain interrupted her by kissing her. Her hands flailed, but he didn't break the kiss and pulled her onto his lap as he sat on the floor.

The kiss ended when they both needed to breathe. Cain hugged her tighter. He had to explain what she had gotten confused. "Part of me will always love Adora. But I thought she was dead when I woke up in the suit. I spent annuals mourning her and Jeb, and killing off my heart." He stroked her cheek as he gazed into her eyes. "You made it beat again, DG, and it belongs to you." She started to speak but he laid his finger across her lips. "It was past time for my ring to come off. Now I have a question for you. What do you want?"

"For us?" Cain nodded and DG swallowed. "Everything's moving too fast. I didn't even get a chance to wrap my head around there being an 'us' before it became 'us plus one.'"

"But you want us together?" he persisted.

Her face flushed. "With all your rescuing and day saving and guns blazing, how could I resist?"

He smirked at her. "I thought you had." His thumb grazed her bottom lip.

"I didn't want to hurt you. And and I'd rather have you as my friend than not have you at all."

"And what about now?" He kissed the sensitive spot on her neck, making her gasp. Thank goodness, the stupid collar she had to wear didn't cover it.

"I like now." He grinned against her skin before taking her earlobe between his teeth. "Now is good, but it's not marriage." She pulled back and looked at him worriedly. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

"Fair enough, I can wait. It's too late to change our story, so try not to give anything away." He waited until she nodded. "But I won't stop making love to you."

"Good." DG's grin mingled with relief. "I don't want that to stop."

He hummed. "Is the bed going to bother your claustrophobia?"

She studied it over his shoulder. "No lid. I should be okay. Are you ready to go to bed?"

"Not to sleep," his voice grew huskier. "I recall promising to show you the fuss 'bout sex all night long as soon as we found a bed."

Her eyes gleamed as her chin tilted up. "I think I remember something about that."

Cain smirked before kissing her sensitive neck again. DG shuddered as her arms wrapped around his neck. Her lips pressed against his temple and his hair. He scraped his teeth against her collarbone before kissing the swell of her breast the bodice pushed up past the neckline of the white shirt. She gasped. He grinned against her skin again and hardened, thinking of the sounds he would drive out of her tonight.

He lifted her to her feet. DG clutched his arms as they stood. He bent her back and caught the lace of her bodice in his teeth. Her breathing hitched as he pulled the knot loose. He glanced up at her desire-darkened, blue eyes and her expression of surprised longing. All he wanted to see on her face was ecstasy, but she needed encouragement to get there.

He ran his hands down her back and cupped her backside, drawing her closer. DG panted as she pulled with her arms. He rubbed her body through her clothing. Her lips grazed his neck above his own collar and sent shudders through his body. After so long in the iron suit, her intimate touches intoxicated him. "I like this on you," he rumbled as his hands found her waistband of the breeches. "But I'm gonna like it better off." He undid the buttons of the fly and slid the short pants down her legs.

Her hands grabbed his shoulders for balance as he knelt in front of her, helping her out of her shoes and the breeches. He tossed them towards the rest of their clothing. He glanced at her face. Curiosity had replaced the surprise.

Cain wondered about those Other Side boys she had known. Had they tried this with her before? Since she was so shocked by her own orgasms, he figured not. He kissed her stomach and swirled his tongue into her belly button. DG gasped and her knees buckled.

He caught her around the waist before she slid to the floor. "Better get the rest of your clothes off before you lay down." He braced her against his body and pulled the bodice laces free.

DG shook her head to clear it. "Do I undress you now?"

"You can lead tomorrow night." He pulled the bodice straps down her arms and tossed it aside. The white shirt billowed free, not that he left it on long enough to admire the length on her legs. Her perfect body that had pressed up against him in the darkness of the van unveiled for his eyes to feast on. "You are so beautiful."

She tried to fold together with a reddening face. "You don't have to tell me that."

"When have I lied to you?" He kissed her before she could analyze the statement. His lips teased her neck in a way guaranteed to stop her thinking as his arms squeezed her closer. Her gasps changed into moans when his fingers trailed across her skin. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he only needed one to lift her off her feet. His free hand opened the shutters of the bed. He set her on the mattress inside. "Get comfortable."

The black shirt hit the wall before tumbling into the clothes pile. He toed off his boots, but left his pants on as he crawled in. DG propped up on her elbows. Her confused look was back. "Why are your pants on?"

He settled between her legs and pushed them further open. "Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you." She gasped when Cain kissed the inside of her left knee.

He ran his lips up her thigh and smirked at her surprised mewl. "But you don't know what I'm doing." He stroked her thigh, moving higher, and she moaned. "Just enjoy it, my darling girl." His kissed her trembling thigh closer to his target.

"Wyatt." She fell off her elbows. He hooked her leg over his shoulder while he hovered over her center. "Don't stop now, please."

He grinned at her begging. As if he would ever stop. His tongue delved into her center. DG arched with an audible inhale. Her cries grew louder the more his lips, tongue, and fingers moved. Her hand found his head and pressed him even closer. His teeth grazed her clit, and she screamed his name as she orgasmed. He kissed his way up her body, so he could see her eyes glazed over with contented pleasure.

Cain cradled her, brushing her hair from her face as she recovered. "I think you liked that," he said.

DG breathed heavily. "Wow. I mean, wow."

"I guess rendering you unable to make sentences is a job well done."

"I can't possibly make you feel that good." Her blue eyes welled with tears.

"None of that now. None of that." He kissed her before stroking her cheek. "I don't care how worthless you think you are. You care about me above yourself, and that is the most precious gift to give someone else." He made sure she was focused on him. "This isn't a scorecard to keep track of; it's a way to express love." He touched his forehead to hers. "And you do make me feel that good, but I guess you'll need phase two to believe that."

"Phase two?"

Cain moved away from her with a smirk and peeled off his pants.


	13. Chapter 13

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirteen**

DG found herself awake before Cain again. She stared at the shadows on the ceiling, and he was on his stomach with his chin near her shoulder and his arm draped over her. Who would've guessed the Tin Man was a snuggler? A smile tugged at her lips.

She had lost count of how many times he had made her scream last night. And in between, he had cradled her so gently. None of her ex-boyfriends had ever taken time with sex before, nor had they ever gone down on her, not even reciprocating her blow jobs. For the first time, she felt she had met someone whose words matched his actions.

And he had said he loved her.

Truth be told, it surprised her to find him still with her in the morning. Even more surprising that he held her. She had thought, after splitting ways with them in Central City that he had followed Zero to the Twister Club but then found them first, knowing they'd be in trouble. Actually, he had come looking for her, just like at the Tower, the Mausoleum, and the inn. Hell, not even the Longcoats were as persistent as Cain.

She stroked his bare arm. His breathing didn't change. She didn't want to wake him. The past few days had been rough and he needed the sleep.

And now they were off on a crazy adventure again. DG suppressed a giggle; she didn't have to worry about her parents tracking her and Cain down. Ahamo's orders probably didn't include knocking her up, and she didn't relish his attitude change when he found out.

A knock hit the door to their room. DG froze, hoping something had just hit it accidentally. No such luck, the knocking continued. She shook Cain until his head jerked up. "Are you answering the door or should I?"

"It's morning already?" he muttered.

"Maybe I should get it. You don't seem to be awake yet."

The blond man grunted and grabbed his pants as he slid out of the bed. He turned his back while fastening them. "Stay put."

DG snorted as she shut the shutters. "If you get a chance, give me my clothes. Otherwise, I'm not leaving the bed."

She heard the outer door open. "Shifts start early on board." Jenkins' voice was too jovial when the suns weren't up yet. "You two are going to need more sleep if you want to keep up."

Cain's voice muffled as he answered. "We'll keep that in mind." His black-clad arm thrust through the shutter and dropped her clothes in her lap. "Time to get up, sweetheart."

"Thanks, honey." DG pulled on the white shirt.

"I wish I could give you more time." Jenkins sounded apologetic. "But you got breakfast for twenty to start on."

"We're not arguing with you," Cain said.

"Aye, and I appreciate that. You wouldn't believe the bellyachin' from this lot."

DG buttoned the fly of the pants and slid out of the bed. Cain had neglected to throw in the bodice with the shirt and pants. She found it on the pile of clothes. "There's twenty people on board?" She tied it closed with her back to the two men.

"Eighteen crew plus you two." Jenkins waited against the wall while they found their boots.

"What did you tell the crew about us?" Cain asked as he straightened, dressed first.

Jenkins' white mustache bristled. "I did have to tell them the Captain owns ya. Sorry, but the collars give that away. But she wants you treated like any other crew members." He shook his head.

"There's going to be trouble?" Cain hooked his thumbs in his belt.

"They're pirates, man. You'd be daft not to expect trouble. And I had to tell them you're a magic user the Captain needs." He gestured toward DG. "And if you can't turn them into toads, don't let them know. I had to tell them something to make 'em keep their hands off. Otherwise, they'll assign you the one job they think a woman should have."

_So much for getting away from the slut label_. DG tied her boots and stood. "But they sail for a woman?"

Jenkins shrugged. "They're scared shitless of Blood-rage. This is the only day I can coddle you two, so pay attention." He opened the door while nodding to himself. Cain put DG between him and Jenkins during the tour. The Quartermaster pointed down to the end of the ship. "Spencer is in the room next to yours, past that is his workshop."

The next stop was up to the middle deck and the indoor outhouse that Jenkins called the head. DG decided it was better than the woods. Then they headed to the front of the ship to a room with the mast through the center of it, a combination mess hall and kitchen called a galley. A long table with benches took up most of the space between the mast and the steep steps up to the top of the ship, along with chairs made from cut-up barrels. The metal stove and oven behind the mast on the left side of the ship dominated the galley. A tapped keg of water hung from the last rafter before the front of the ship. Again, DG silently considered it a step up from the camping from her first week back in the O.Z.

Cain poked through the shallow cabinets built against the hull while Jenkins pointed out where different items were kept. Trunks and barrels were organized in a semi-circle behind the stove, avoiding the cabinet doors and the trap door down into the cold storage below them. DG sat at the table, recognizing she needed to learn the vocabulary for sailing life to not sound like an idiot.

Footsteps clattered down the steep stairs until Sprite jumped to the floor, skipping the last few steps. She grinned at DG and grabbed her hands. "Captain wants to see you."

DG glanced at Jenkins and Cain while Sprite pulled her to her feet. Jenkins waved their concerned expressions away. "Rest of the ship's not up yet. It's safe enough to go with Sprite."

She followed the Viewer child up the stairs that were almost a ladder. DG managed to climb without using her hands. Sprite grabbed her hand and led her down the length of the ship to the wheel. It was set up on a part of the deck raised four steps above the rest of the ship.

Betsy's brown hair was tied back as she stared at the horizon, tweaking the direction of the ship with slight movements of the wheel. "Morning."

"Morning." DG rubbed her arms. "Is it always this chilly?"

"Before sunrise, aye. It'll warm up. Did you sleep well?"

DG's eyebrows came together. "Why do you care how we slept?"

Betsy bit her lip. "Look, there's no reason for us to be at odds. I realize that I've forced you to help me, but I don't want it to be an unpleasant experience."

"Come again?"

"On the top ten list of great evil in the world, I didn't even make the cut for consideration. Does that make you feel better?"

"So you're not after a magical artifact that will bring death, destruction, and mayhem?" DG leaned against the railing on the right side of the ship.

Betsy threw back her head as she laughed. "No, no. This is strictly personal gain. And no taking over the world either. I don't want that headache." She wiped her eyes as her chuckles wound down.

DG frowned. "If you're serious about the unpleasant experience, no more boxes. I've got issues."

"I had to get you on board without spying eyes in Mount Cove asking why I would start buying slaves. I'm sorry, but choices were limited. And if I made things unbearable by insisting on the marriage, well, we can make other arrangements."

DG focused on the dark waves beyond the ship. "Thanks, but it's okay."

"Are you sure? You were all kinds of awkward last night."

She pushed her black hair away from her face as she considered the best way to answer. "Wyatt and I have gone through a lot, but we only became lovers three days ago. Now I'm knocked up and playing married."

"And they say pirates don't waste any time." Betsy's mood seemed open this morning or DG had more mental balance, so maybe now was a good time to get answers.

"So what's the deal with this treasure? Why do you need a magic user? Cause if you need me to break wards, I should warn you I don't have much training."

"Nothing like that. It's not cursed, but it's at Rock Fort. Could be hostile forces according to the legends." Betsy shrugged, not worried about fighting. "But Rock Fort is enchanted to move. The only way to track the island is with a magic-powered astrolabe."

"That's all you need me for? To act as a magic battery?"

Betsy grinned. "That's it." Her expression grew more serious as she looked at the horizon. "Once we have both halves of the astrolabe, you can show us which way to sail."

Sprite skipped from the rear of the ship to the wheel. "Kingsport tomorrow. The waters sing it."

"That's right." Betsy and DG watched the Viewer child skip down the steps and head to the central mast. "I don't know if the waters actually tell her or if she senses it from us, but she always talks like that."

DG settled her elbows on the railing as Sprite climbed the ropes into the sails. "Are there many Viewers on this side of the desert?"

"I have no idea. Sprite and her mother took the same route you did." DG turned her attention to the Captain. Betsy stared ahead. "Jenkins and I had just made our first port at Mount Cove, and we ran across a man who had decided a five-year-old child had purposely damaged the packages he had made her carry. Her mother stopped him from beating her child. He turned on the mother to teach her a lesson." Her lips curled back. "He didn't think much of the lesson when I did the same to him, but I convinced him to sell his Viewer slaves to me. And I freed them right in front of his face." She sighed. "Her mother didn't recover. So we made Sprite the cabin girl."

DG looked back at the girl sitting in the crow's nest. "You didn't try to get her back to her people?"

"Too dangerous. Crossing the desert, the Sorceress in charge and she used them." Betsy shook her head. "I like better risks than that and on my own neck, not a child's."

"Things are different now, but then how long ago was that?"

"Three years. Time flies when you're plundering." Sprite scrambled down the ropes so fast, DG thought she would miss the grip and fall to the deck. Betsy chuckled at DG's sharp inhale. "I trust Sprite on those ropes better than the rest of the crew."

DG's heart stopped pounding once Sprite reached the floor. "I think I'm developing a fear of heights. I never had one before."

Sprite bounded up the steps and grabbed DG's hand. "Come see, come see!" The Viewer dragged DG to the end of the ship, avoiding the thick rod and ropes between the tiller and the steering wheel as well as the sail overhead and the ropes pulling it taut. They stood beside one of the extended pulleys holding up a small rowboat. Sprite perched on a sturdy locked box built onto the floor and DG found a spot where she didn't disturb the ropes tied to cleats on top of the railings. She leaned over and saw the ropes held shutters off the windows in the Captain's quarters. Sprite quivered with excitement. "What are we looking for?"

Sprite pointed at the horizon, already tinged pink. DG fell silent as the sky brightened. The lapping waters reflected the bands of color created in the sky as the two suns rose, one after the other. A lump filled her throat. She hadn't seen such an unencumbered sunrise since leaving Kansas.

"What's Kansas?" Sprite's eyes gleamed, curiosity making her face look even younger.

DG looked over her shoulder. Betsy was talking with another sailor, and neither showed any sign of having heard the Viewer's quiet question. "It's where I'm from, but it's a secret."

"Where everyone is from is a secret. I no tell." She leaned her arms on the railing, and looked at the waters. "You know my people."

"I'm good friends with a couple of Viewers."

Sprite nodded. "Maybe you're the ones." She grinned at DG. "I can teach you ship, Thea Cain. So most crew won't think you useless."

"Most crew?"

Sprite nodded vigorously. "Hodges says you and your mate can't pull weight."

"I have the feeling Hodges will complain about something else."

"Hodges complains about everything." The Viewer pointed at the deck. "Stern. Bow means front. Starboard," she pointed right, "port," she pointed left. DG copied Sprite's movements with the terms. Sprite grinned, grabbed her hand, and pulled her forward.

Betsy smiled as they rushed past. "Stay on this deck," she yelled.

DG waved to show they had heard her. They dodged around sailors emerging from the open hatches and the cannons tied into place at the railings. She didn't know if she would remember all the terms Sprite was throwing at her. They stopped at the bow, a raised section two steps above the rest of the deck between the first mast and the bowsprit.

"Foredeck," Sprite corrected.

"Right," DG replied as she turned. She avoided the pipe from the deck radiating steam and heat. Two cannons smaller than the ones on the main deck were mounted on the railings on the port and starboard sides.

There was a laugh behind them. Inge Spencer climbed out of the forehatch carrying two bowls of oatmeal. "Taking care of the new crew and then forget to eat." His thick lips smiled as he handed one bowl to Sprite. "She did the same for me, Mrs. Cain." He handed the bowl to DG with a flourish.

"Thank you." DG took the bowl, but didn't shovel down the oatmeal as fast as Sprite. "Any idea when Wyatt can come up?"

Spencer shrugged, "Cooky always claimed he was too busy. But he always had excuses handy."

She nodded. One of the cooks at Hilltop had always managed to disappear when a school bus pulled in. "I know the type. Wyatt's not like that."

"But Mr. Cain's not a sailor." He watched the rest of the crew scurrying over the ropes and sails. "I'm not much of one yet, either. I've only been aboard about a cycle, but I've got the only woodworking skills, so master carpenter." He tugged on his shirt as his shoulders went back.

"The Pingareen is proud of his unearned position." Hodges hung by one hand on the support ropes for the sails. His lanky body swung slightly as he scarred face glared at DG and Spencer. Sprite glared at him from her seat on the deck, but he didn't spare her a glance. "How proud would your parents be of your profession, orphan boy?"

"Probably prouder than yours are of you." Spencer's chin jutted up, but DG saw the welling of tears in his brown eyes. "The Pingareens are warriors, and honorable ones."

"Aye, with sticks and stones, so it was a massacre when they faced cannonballs and bullets." Hodges sneered, "And how did you survive the carnage, boy?"

"By keeping my wits while everyone else lost theirs." Spencer glared at the taller man before wiping the anger from his face when he turned to DG. "The Captain prefers we don't discuss it. Someone's doing evil in the Nonestic, throwing off the balance. But that's nothing you need worry 'bout. How do you want your trunk marked?"

They had gone to the ignore Hodges' part of the conversation. She could play along. "Marked?"

"I can carve your name on it, but not all the crew can read. A symbol is better, so what would you like?"

"A star inside a circle."

Spencer shook his head with a smile. "Your husband already picked that. A symbol for you, Mrs. Cain."

DG didn't know which was making her more uncomfortable: Hodges' continuous stare or Spencer--not much younger--calling her _Mrs. Cain_. "I don't have a symbol to describe me."

"Do too." Sprite stopped glaring at Hodges to look up at Spencer and DG.

DG's eyes widened, but kept the rest of her face blank. She had considered the tattoo mark that had been on her hand, but dismissed it. _SECRET!_ Her mind screamed at the Viewer.

"Everyone has symbol, need to find it," Sprite said.

"Okay, but I need to think about it." DG smiled at Spencer.

Hodges chuckled, but menace was behind the amusement. "Does your husband know what a shameless flirt he has married?"

Her stomach clenched as badly as it had when she had been cornered by Prince Aedan. She couldn't show him she was afraid, and lifted her chin. "This is a friendly conversation. But I'm guessing you haven't experienced much of either, so it's no wonder you're confused."

Hodges let go of the rope and stepped closer. Sprite and Spencer both slid in front of DG. He leered at her with a half grin full of teeth, more sinister looking with the scarred half of his face not matching the expression. "I would love to put that smart mouth to the work it should be doing."

"I doubt the Captain will let you buy your way out of an amputation for a second time." Spencer took DG's arm and shouldered Hodges out of the way as he escorted her to the forehatch. Sprite flanked her left side. "Let's get you back to your husband, Mrs. Cain."

DG didn't argue as they went down the steps. As long as it didn't look like she was running from Hodges, she would give into the consuming need to see Cain. What was wrong with her? Back in Kansas, she could handle a creep like Hodges by herself. Hell, she faced the Sorceress and everyone on the witch's side feared her. Maybe it was a side effect of being pregnant. Or maybe life in the Palace damaged something DG had thought essential to who she was.

Cain peered around the stove when they approached. "What happened?" His eyes darted to each face and his concerned frown deepened.

DG spoke first. It was her problem and her over-protective Tin Man. "Hodges." She stopped him as he walked toward the steps with fists curled. "He didn't lay a finger on me, just talk with a lot of sneering."

"You all look like it was just talk."

Spencer shrugged. "Mr. Hodges has a talent for getting under everyone's skin. I need to start on my duties." He waved his dark-skinned hand as he disappeared down the steps to the bottom deck.

"I'll take coffee to the Captain now," Sprite said. Cain let them around the stove where he filled a wooden mug from a stove top percolator. Sprite scampered up the stairs with that one while he poured two more, which he carried to the table. She sat across from him and found his forearms exposed by rolled-up sleeves fascinating. Especially compared to his what-are-you-not-telling-me face.

"Should I still drink coffee?" It smelled divine.

"A cup a day never hurt Adora and Jeb." He sipped his while waiting for her enjoyment over coffee to fade. "Do you want to talk 'bout it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I was talking to Spencer and Sprite, and he saw an opportunity to annoy us. He made a sexual reference to me, and it was actually cleaner than what I've heard before." That did not make Cain look happier. "I'll stay down here and help you. And you can growl at him if he tries to bother me." That should make his alpha male tendencies happy.

He looked less unhappy. "Does the Captain need you?"

"No, she just wanted to make sure we didn't need different sleeping arrangements."

"I didn't think she was that perceptive." He looked curious, and shook his head. "Did she say anything about this treasure?"

"She needs magic to run the compass thingy to find where it's located. It's kept on a moving island." DG finished her coffee. "And it's for personal gain."

"That's the same for all criminals. What's in it for me." Cain stood up with a sigh. "Don't start apologizing. There are worse places we could've ended up."

"I know," she answered in place of the apology she had to swallow down. "Want me to wash dishes?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Fourteen**

The strangest things reminded Cain that DG was a princess. Who would have thought her innocent offer to help would trigger the thought she was above cleaning after a group of grubby men. She got him over it when she started comparing the experience to the work she'd done on the Other Side.

The crew came down for lunch in shifts, and if they were hungry. He was learning the names of the men that joined him and DG in the galley, and they treated DG and himself respectfully. Hodges and the three men who had attacked them yesterday didn't come down until supper. But by then, nearly the entire crew was in the room.

Jenkins with his guitar sat next to those four at the end of the table farthest from the stove. Drake, the crewman with a going-grey goatee, brought a tall drum that hung from a baldric across his chest.

DG gestured to the fiddle Spencer held when she passed him a plate. "What's with the musical instruments?"

"We always sing for supper, Mrs. Cain."

Hodges elbowed the dark-skinned man with the braided hair sitting beside him, his pal Benavides, one of the men who had attacked Cain. "How 'bout you start things off, Mrs. Cain?" he asked with a smirk.

"I doubt you guys know the same songs I do," DG smiled at the musicians. "Maybe after some practice."

"You don't think we can learn songs from the Outer Zone, Mrs. Cain?" Hodges laced his fingers together as he leaned his elbows on the table. "Most of us have been singing shanties for your entire life."

DG's deep blue eyes glanced at Cain with a plea, but he didn't see how he could rescue her. Jenkins broke in. "Now you put her on the spot. Maybe Mrs. Cain can't sing."

That was the wrong offer of an out by the way DG's eyes narrowed. "I can sing; I just prefer to sing something everyone knows. But if you insist." She picked up an unclaimed mug of water and looked apologetically to Cain while taking a sip.

_Why the hell was she sorry about singing?_ The answer dawned on him as soon as he thought the question. The only Zone song she knew was the lullaby about the two princesses. Whatever she was about to sing must be from the Other Side.

She put down the cup and held her hands behind her back.

_"Just one year of love,  
is better than a lifetime alone.  
One sentimental moment in your arms  
is like a shooting star right through my heart.  
It's always a rainy day without you.  
I'm a prisoner of love inside you.  
I'm falling apart all around you - yeah."_

Her strong clear voice filled the room and the sailors stopped eating to listen.

_"My heart cries out to your heart.  
I'm lonely but you can save me.  
My hand reaches for to your hand.  
I'm cold but you light the fire in me.  
My lips search for your lips,  
I'm hungry for your touch.  
There's so much left unspoken.  
And all I can do is surrender,  
to the moment just surrender."_

Jenkins looked at her wide-eyed. DG's eyelids drooped as her voice grew even stronger.

_"And no one ever told me that love would hurt so much,  
oooh yes it hurts.  
And pain is so close to pleasure.  
And all I can do is surrender to your love,  
just surrender to your love._

_Just one year of love  
is better than a lifetime alone.  
One sentimental moment in your arms  
is like a shooting star right through my heart.  
It's always a rainy day without you.  
I'm a prisoner of love inside you.  
I'm falling apart all around you.  
And all I can do is surrender." _

She opened her eyes. The pirates stared back at her. DG blushed. "Okay, not a love ballad crowd. Maybe I should've tried 'We Will Rock You.'"

Jenkins lost his surprised expression as he pulled his guitar onto his lap. "It reminds me of a queen I knew once." He fell into a chord that was familiar to the crew as they started tapping feet and Spencer started the same song on the fiddle.

_"Gentlemen it is my duty to inform you of one beauty,  
though I ask of you a favor, not to seek her for a while.  
For I own she is a creature of character and feature,  
no words can paint the picture of the Queen of all Argyll."_

All the men started singing the chorus.

_"And if you could have seen her there, boys if you had just been there!  
The swan was in her movement and the morning in her smile.  
All the roses in the garden would bow and ask her pardon.  
For not one could match the beauty of the Queen of all Argyll."_

They fell silent, letting Jenkins have the verse all by himself.

_"On the evening that I mention I walked with light intention  
to a part of our dear country known for beauty and for style,  
being a place of noble thinkers, of scholars and great drinkers!  
But above them all, for splendor, shone the Queen of all Argyll."_

The crew sang again and DG joined in with them.

_"And if you could have seen her there, boys if you had just been there!  
The swan was in her movement and the morning in her smile.  
All the roses in the garden would bow and ask her pardon.  
For not one could match the beauty of the Queen of all Argyll."_

_"Now me lads I needs must leave you, my intention not to grieve you.  
Nor would I deceive you, so I'll seek you in a while.  
I must find some way to gain her, to court her and to tame her.  
For I fear my heart's in danger of the Queen of all Argyll."_

Sprite bounded into the mess ahead of Betsy and joined the last chorus.

_"And if you could have seen her there, boys if you had just been there!  
The swan was in her movement and the morning in her smile.  
All the roses in the garden would bow and ask her pardon.  
For not one could match the beauty of the Queen of all Argyll." _

The Captain smiled at the young Viewer while skirting around the group toward Cain at the stove.

Jenkins and Spencer finished the music with a flourish. The dark-skinned boy pulled the fiddle from under his chin. "Eating with us, Captain?" He grinned before eating.

"Aye, like I've never done that before." Betsy took the filled bowl from Cain and found a seat made out of a barrel against the wall.

Jenkins' lips curled in a smile under his bushy white mustache. "We're singing for our suppers tonight, Captain." Betsy groaned and his smile widened.

Sprite jumped. "Sing, sing!"

"Cooky's suppers were never worth singing over." Betsy took her first bite and chewed thoughtfully. "My apologies, Mr. Cain, this is worth singing over." Cain nodded and DG grinned for him. Betsy turned to Sprite. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Dark Lady!" She clapped her hands.

"Couldn't go for anything cheerful, could you?"

Sprite cocked her head. "But I like 'Dark Lady.'"

"Then 'Dark Lady' you shall have. Now go feed your belly." Betsy set her food aside. Sprite bounded up to Cain, grabbing her meal with a huge grin. Spencer started the song on his fiddle and played for a few measures before Betsy blended her strong voice with the melody.

_"A fierce one-eyed man named Baron LaBonne,  
a meaner pirate had never been known,  
and he sailed on the Dark Lady.  
A ship strong and sound with a perilous crew,  
and high on the mast the skull and bones flew.  
Fleet and swift was the Dark Lady._

_And every night the Baron would drink a toast.  
He'd say, "Here's to my lovely lady host!  
My one true love." _

The entire room called out, _"Hear, hear!" _

And Betsy continued the song, _"the crew replied.  
And the Dark Lady sighed._

_A rich Spanish galleon was spotted one night.  
The Dark Lady's crew prepared for the fight.  
Clash of swords.... No Spaniards survived it.  
Except for the maiden with dark eyes so bold,  
found in the hull with the jewels and the gold.  
LaBonne laughed and took her for ransom._

_And every night the Baron would drink a toast.  
He'd say, "Here's to our lovely lady host!  
My one true love." _

DG joined in the call this time. _"Hear, hear!"_

_"The crew replied.  
And the Dark Lady sighed._

_The girl Carlotta was a beauty quite rare.  
With each passing night LaBonne couldn't bear,  
his empty bed. He brought her to it.  
The Baron soon found he felt more than desire.  
His love for her grew and his soul filled with fire.  
He proclaimed that they would marry._

_That night the Baron drank with jubilee.  
He said "Here's to my lovely bride to be!  
My one true love..."_

Cain noticed Betsy's voice caught on that, but no one else reacted. Maybe it was part of the song.

_"Hear, hear!"_

_"The crew replied.  
And the Dark Lady cried._

_The following night a storm brewed at sea.  
The Dark Lady saw her chance to be free,  
of her rival, the beauty Carlotta.  
The ship steered herself to the heart of the gale,  
where a wave swept the maiden out over the rail.  
Sweet revenge on an unfaithful lover!" _

Betsy sang that line with gusto, laying her hand on the hull behind her.  
_"That night the Lady drank a toast.  
She said, "Here's to your lovely lady host!  
Your one true love.." _

DG started to sing it, but none of the other crew joined Betsy's voice.

_"No voices replied.  
And the Dark Lady smiled._

_And now any night when a storm fills the sky.  
They say that a ghost ship sails in its eye.  
Fleet and swift is the Dark Lady.  
A ship strong and sound with a perilous crew.  
And high on the mast the skull and bones flew,  
while the captain gazes out to sea.  
And every night the Baron must drink a toast.  
He says, "Here's to our lovely lady host!  
My one true love." _

The crew called out again. _"Hear, hear!"_

_"The ghost crew replies.  
And the Dark Lady smiles." _

Betsy picked up her bowl again as Spencer stopped fiddling. "Pick something cheerful next," she ordered with a smile.

Sprite dropped her empty bowl in the crate collecting the used utensils and ran to Spencer's side. "Johnny Jump-Up, Johnny Jump-Up!"

His white teeth gleamed against his dark skin. "You're going to help clean up?"

"Yes!" She snatched up his used plate and ran it to the crate.

Spencer laughed before he started singing.

_"Come and listen, I'll tell you what happened to me,  
one day as I went down to Cork by the sea.  
The day it was hot and the sun it was warm,  
so says I a quiet pint wouldn't do me no harm._

_I went in and I called for a bottle of stout.  
Says the barman, I'm sorry, all the beer is sold out.  
Try whiskey or paddy, ten years in the wood.  
Says I, I'll try cider, I've heard it was good."_

The entire crew helped him sing the chorus with clapping to keep the rhythm.

_"Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up.  
After drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up." _

They made the background vocalizing as Spencer continued with the lyrics.

_"After downing the third I went out to the yard,  
where I bumped into Brody, the big civic guard.  
Come here to me boy, don't you know I'm the law?  
Well, I up with me fist and I shattered his jaw._

_He fell to the ground with his knees doubled up.  
But it wasn't I hit him, 'twas Johnny Jump Up.  
The next thing I remember down in Cork by the sea,  
was a cripple on crutches and says he to me._

_I'm afraid of me life I'll be hit by a car.  
Won't you help me across to the Celtic Knot Bar?  
After drinking a quart of that cider so sweet,  
he threw down his crutches and danced on his feet."_

_"Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up,  
after drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up."_

_"I went down the lee road, a friend for to see.  
They call it the madhouse in Cork by the Sea.  
Well when I got there, sure the truth I will tell,  
they had this poor bugger locked up in a cell._

_Said the guard, testing him, say these words if you can.  
Around the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.  
Tell him I'm not crazy, tell him I'm not mad.  
It was only a sip of the cider I had."_

_"Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up,  
after drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up."_

DG and Sprite roamed through the singing men, gathering the dirty dishes. DG moved gracefully, taking the dishes without distracting the men. Sprite wasn't as graceful since she tried to jig to the song.

_"A man died in the mines by the name of McNabb.  
They washed him and laid him outside on the slab.  
Well after the parlors measurements did take,  
his wife brought him home to a bloody fine wake._

_T'was about 12 o'clock and the beer was high.  
The corpse sits up and says with a sigh,  
I can't get to heaven, they won't let me up.  
Till I bring them a quart of the Johnny Jump Up."_

_"Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up,  
after drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up."_

_"So if ever you go down to Cork by the sea.  
Stay out of the ale house and take it from me.  
If you want to stay sane don't you dare take a sip,  
of that devil drink cider called Johnny Jump Up."_

_"Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up,  
after drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up._

_Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again.  
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten.  
I fell to the ground and I couldn't get up,  
after drinking a quart of the Johnny Jump Up."_

Cain scrubbed the dirty dishes with the cooling boiled water. The crew shifted away from the mess, laughing and talking now that the singing was done. DG brought the last bowls to the wash basin. "So what's on the schedule now?"

"Bank the stove and go to bed." Her face fell at his answer. "You had a different idea?"

"You haven't gotten out of here all day. Let's go see the ocean before bed." She pulled out her pleading eyes.

He shook his head. "Alright, alright, you can show me the ocean."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope everyone is enjoying this moment of calm after all the crap Cain and DG went through to get here. See, I'm not totally evil to them.

And pirates as well as any other sailors spent a lot of time singing, creating a whole genre of music called "sea shanties." The ones featured in this novel are on the fanmix soundtrack I made for the it: http colon slash slash www period bookwormlibrary period us slash soundtracks slash TinMan underscore Pirates period zip

CinephileSandra was the first reviewer last chapter, so good luck trying to beat her. :) It thrilled me to hear from Raven Ki-Lin, wonderwoman56, and griff-chan too. Please keep reviewing. :D


	15. Chapter 15

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Fifteen**

DG headed up the forehatch stairs first. She turned to face Cain once she reached the deck. The smile on his face caused her to bite her bottom lip. He caught her hand and squeezed when he emerged, dropping the latticed-wood trapdoor into place. All three of the moons hung in the sky, bathing the ship in blue light. Cain craned his neck up at the billowing sails, and then looked down at her with a grin. "This was a good idea."

It was so good to see him happy. "I'm glad I had one. I was getting paranoid."

"Sweetheart."

She pulled him to the railing. "Don't start that."

"What?"

"Your pep talk that all this isn't my fault. I don't need that right now."

Cain put his hands on the railing, trapping her between his arms. She arched her back as he leaned over her. "I hate seeing you beat yourself up, my darling girl."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not. I wanted to make you smile at my expense."

"There are better ways to make me smile." He captured her lips with his.

DG hadn't expected him to be flagrantly public, but she didn't plan on complaining. She moved her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer.

He pulled back to breathe. "Save something for later," he said in a low voice that made her body tingle. He brushed back the hair blowing into her face with a feather-light touch. "I didn't know you could sing."

"You never asked."

Cain's pupils dilated more with her tease. "True. And the song you picked..."

She swallowed. He had said not to reveal she was a Slipper. "They don't know where it's really from," she said. There was no danger of the man in the crow's nest or the man at the steering wheel overhearing, but she dropped her voice anyway.

He blinked. "Don't worry about that. The O.Z. has always been cut off." He took her hand again and they strolled to the foredeck. "This is beautiful." He looked over the railing at the water. "And that's a big fish."

DG leaned over next to him. The silver-fin back broke out of the glittering dark water. "I think it's a dolphin. If there are dolphins over here."

"I've never heard of dolphins."

"They're only found in the ocean, but they're not fish. They breathe air."

Cain nodded as he pushed back. "We can ask someone tomorrow. Let's go to bed." He turned them toward the forehatch.

The creaking of the mast above them changed, but the breeze remained the same. Something whistled through the air above and behind them. The sudden impact shoved Cain into DG, and she fell to the deck. She turned her head and saw Cain's tan pants hitting the railing and swinging over. "Wyatt!" She scrambled to the nearest hole for the cannon. Cain hung by one hand on a rung nailed to the hull, but his fingers slipped as the ship moved. "NO!"

She stretched her arm through the hole but couldn't reach him. She sent her magic. She had to make him fly like her doll. Her hand glowed with her light.

Cain's hand slipped off the rung and he flailed to stop his fall.

Her head pounded as her body shook. Somebody grabbed her legs to pull her out from under the cannon she had wedged under. She screamed and kicked. The arms backed away.

Cain spun in the air above the water. She felt the deck underneath her vibrate from running feet. Heads appeared over the railing and a rope sailed over the side. She needed to get him to the rope. Her body shook harder as Cain's arm stretched to grab it. The last bit of energy rushed out of her and she slumped on the wooden planks.

Cain's hand missed the rope as he dropped. DG opened her mouth as his blond head disappeared under the dark water, but no sound came out. She had never told him. She had only given him her body, same thing she had given everyone else. He would never know he was different. Now she screamed. He would never know.

She was pulled out from under the cannon and she didn't fight as she was rolled over. Hodges straddled her, pinned her arms above her head, and leered in her face. "My turn now." His face morphed, growing younger, until Prince Aedan's green eyes glared at her. "I told you I'd suffer no one else between your legs!"

DG screamed again.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the length, but I couldn't resist a closing like that. Tell me what you think!


	16. Chapter 16

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Sixteen**

DG continued screaming as she clawed at Prince Aedan's face. Damn bastard wasn't getting anything from her! Her hands were free but something cloth-like wrapped around her body. His face dissipated like smoke as she wrenched her body upright.

Shutters sprang open and light hurt her eyes. A warm, callused hand gripped her shoulder. "Thea! It's okay." She jerked to the husky voice she thought she'd never hear again. Cain ran his hand down her arm. "It's okay."

DG couldn't say anything that sounded like a word, so she launched herself at him with a happy cry. He staggered back as his brawny chest caught her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He wasn't even wet, except where her tears were falling. His arms circled and held her up. Good thing, because her bare legs were still caught on the bed and unable to.

"I tell Captain she's fine. Good-night," Sprite said before the outer door to their quarters opened and closed.

DG sobbed as she sagged against Cain.

"Not quite the way I thought you'd wake up." He stopped chuckling when she didn't let go or stop sobbing. He stroked her hair. "My darling girl, what's wrong? You're scaring me."

She had to explain this breakdown. "I saw you drown." She ignored his protests meant to soothe. "And I hadn't told you. And then they were attacking me. No magic left and I hadn't told you."

Cain moved her legs so she sat on their bed, and then pried her loose so he could look at her face. "Breathe, sweetheart, breathe. It was just a bad dream." He cupped her face with both hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. "You got me to the rope and, according to Sprite, it used up your magic and you passed out. My boots didn't even get wet."

DG took a deep breath. Of course, it was a nightmare. Hodges couldn't turn into Prince Aedan or vice versa; neither one of them had magic. "I'm sorry. It was bad."

"No doubt with the way you screamed." The concern on his face eased. "You weren't kidding when you said how fast your magic drains. Is lighting up like a lamp sign part of it?" She must have looked confused, because he continued. "Signs on the buildings in Central City?"

DG shrugged. "Tutor hated that side effect but never told me why or what caused it. And you're a lot heavier than my doll."

His look of relief was so pronounced, she sent her own silent question. "I worried it was 'cause of the baby," he said. "Never saw you glow before."

"Hopefully, you won't have to see it again." She wiped her face before wrapping her arms around him again. His grunt ended with a hiss when her hands hit his back. She nearly fell back letting go. "What did I do?"

"My back's bruised up, sweetheart. You just hit it."

"Why didn't you get Sprite to heal you?" She shook her head and reached for the hem of his shirt. "Let me see."

Cain looked at her exasperatedly before stripping off the black shirt. "I'm not in the habit of running to a child for every scrape." He turned to drop the shirt on their pile of clothes next to the bed.

DG gasped at the almost black marks. "It looks like someone slammed their feet into your back!"

"That's because someone swung on a rope and slammed his feet into my back. You didn't see who it was?"

"I was focused on you. Didn't anybody else see what happened?"

Cain's face twisted with frustration. "Roberts was driving the ship and Teach was keeping watch on the mast. So of course they didn't see Hodges attack. And he swears he had gone to the head. I didn't see him and now you didn't." He sat on the edge and leaned against the post marking the headboard. His sigh released his frustration. "We'll have to be more careful." He cupped her face, running his thumb over her cheekbone. "Do you need to talk about your nightmare?"

She pressed her face against his hand. "The worst part was seeing you disappear under the water." The tears and fear welled up. She swallowed them down best she could. "And I realized I never told you, and if you were dead, I could never tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Of course, he would ask that. She twisted her fingers together. She had never wanted to run so badly before, to get away first before he threw her away. But he deserved an explanation. Looking up at his open face, she blurted out, "I love you." She trembled. "I should've told you before we..." Her words faltered and she resorted to gesturing to each of them.

Cain pulled her to his chest. She relaxed against him. "I had no doubts, DG." He ran his hands over her back and arms. "Your actions speak louder than your words." He pressed his lips against the top of her head.

She relaxed more. "I don't know why I was so afraid to tell you." Her laugh was shaky. "Afraid you'd run away."

"I'm not leaving you. That's not what love means to me." He tilted her chin to see her face. "Do you know why I was a good Tin Man?" She shook her head, mesmerized by his darkening blue eyes. "Because no one I went after ever got away from me. So don't bother thinking you'll be the first." He kissed her hard.

She ran her hand over his chest as their kiss deepened. Cain growled as her fingers stroked over his nipple. He laid her out on the mattress. Her shirt rolled up as she moved. He leaned over her, bracing his weight off of her so his right hand could stroke her face. She pressed her lips to his throat, below the silver collar. His hand rubbed her exposed ribs.

Her teeth scraped his collarbone and Cain shuddered above her. He shifted to kiss her on the lips. He eased down her body, tugging her panties off her legs before taking hold of her shirt. His fingers traced over her skin as he pushed the shirt up. She lifted her head and arms to get it off. Cain tossed her clothes aside before kissing her lips again.

He stretched her bare arms above her head, and laced their fingers together. She stiffened underneath him. He pulled up. "What's wrong?"

"Not like this," she whispered. "My nightmare." Her throat felt tight. Cain rolled off without hesitation. She pulled her arms to make an X across her chest and concentrated on her breathing. _All this should be good practice for Lamaze._

She rolled and saw Cain's fear-filled face. "Hey," she cupped his cheek, "it's okay."

The fear hardened. "Hardly, if being with me reminds you of a nightmare."

"The position, not the person, Wyatt. Huge difference." She sat up. He still looked angry and unsure. "Can I call the shots tonight?"

"I don't know what that means." He sighed, "But I'll follow your lead, sweetheart."

"That's what it means. Now off with your pants and on your tummy."

Cain followed her directions, shaking his head. "I don't know what you think you can do to me like this."

"I have a few ideas." She squeezed his ass cheeks. "I've wanted to do that since the first time you bent over in front of me."

He laughed as she continued to knead his muscles. "Then I think I admire your self-restraint."

"Yeah, nobody ever gives me any credit for having any." She knelt between his spread legs and continued to rub. Cain dropped his head to the mattress. She bent over his ass and kissed the small of his back. His head twisted to see her over his shoulder. "No like?" she asked his wide eyes.

"I like, but..."

She soothed the muscles over his hip bones. "I see your bruises, Wyatt. I'll be careful." She held herself over him on her hands and knees, and licked his spine under the bruises. Cain moaned as she pressed her breasts against him. "I think you liked that." She moved up and nipped his shoulder.

He growled and lifted his hips. DG rubbed his shoulders and neck before nipping his other shoulder. "You having your wicked way with me is different."

"Do you want me to stop?" DG sat back, skimming his sides. She circled his butt cheeks and hips before pulling his hips higher into the air so she could press her breasts against his ass and wrap her arms around him. Her hands found his erection.

He moaned as she stroked. "By the gods, different is good. Don't stop!"

She nuzzled the small of his back. "I'll have to unless you want a hand-job."

"Won't leave you very satisfied." He breathed hard, almost panting.

"I'm not too worried about that. I remember your fingers alone making me feel incredible last night. Do you want to play with our hands?" Cain seemed reluctant to tell her what he wanted. DG had never had that happen before, and Cain's normal disposition was bossy. Maybe he didn't like her being this forward. She pulled from him. "I want to make you feel good, Wyatt. Tell me what you want."

His breathing shook his whole body. He moved onto his elbows and turned his head to look at her. "I want you to feel safe with me."

"I do feel safe with you," she huffed. "Are you that hung up about being on top? Because I know there are more positions than just that even if I never did follow the _Kama Sutra_ step by step."

"You want to lead so you'll feel safe."

"I want to make you feel good. Hard to do when you won't give me a hint."

"I'd like to watch you without straining my neck." She watched Cain's face redden. "But I'd rather feel your mouth."

She inhaled sharply, feeling tingly as she moved out of his way. "Don't keep me waiting." Cain rolled over and leaned his back against their headboard wall. DG crawled up his legs with a grin that he returned. "I should warn you." She stroked his legs as she settled into place. He only cocked his scarred eyebrow. She ran her tongue up his shaft. "All my exes said I gave good head." Before he could question her terminology, she swirled her tongue around his tip.

The moans and pleasured groans she pulled out of him tightened her pussy. Cain was letting go for her, and she gave her Tin Man lollipop a little nibble before bobbing her mouth on it completely. His hands stroked and cradled her head, taking care not to force her speed or direct her movements. He came with a shout, and she swallowed the salty cum before looking up at him.

His arms pulled her, but without the strength she had felt before. She followed their coaxing and he hugged her before dropping his mouth on hers. That was a first, but she closed her eyes and parted her lips. Cain cradled her after his heated kiss. She curled his chest hair around her finger until he laid his hand on top of hers, pressing both flat against his skin. "I don't much care for how they treated you." She smiled at Cain being jealous of those losers. "But I'm glad them boys ain't liars."

DG giggled, and Cain grinned. He set her left leg over his. Her giggling ended with an inhale of anticipation. His fingertips traced a pattern on her inner thigh. His lips grazed her temple and cheek. "Now that I have your attention," he said as he brushed higher up her thigh, "I love you." The hand around her waist shifted to knead her breast. Her head fell back on his shoulder. "You said it once today." The hand on her leg stroked the crease of her leg. "Can we try for twice?"

She jerked her hips to meet his hand. "That's not nice," she panted.

"You'll like admitting it." He rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb. Her eyes fluttered as she mewled with the inner jolt. "It feels good to say it." He combed his fingers through her dark curls, avoiding her clit.

Her body trembled. "Yes, I love you, you big tease!" Two fingers plunged inside her while his thumb pressed down on her clit. She arched with a cry.

"I told you'd like it." Cain kissed her behind the ear, and stroked inside her. "My DG, my beautiful wife." She was too caught up in the pleasure to remember she was uncomfortable with being called that.

Stars exploded behind her eyes. "Oh God, Wyatt!" By the time she had recovered, Cain had moved her to his lap.

He brushed her hair while she tilted her head to look up. "I love that look on your face."

"What? Spent?" she laughed.

"Content." He kissed her, catching her bottom lip and teasing it. "We have to get more sleep tonight."

"I know."

He set her on her side before spooning up behind her and smoothing the covers over them both. "Why did you pick that song?" His breath tickled her ear. "Was it 'cause you know all the words or," he swallowed hard, "do you believe that's true?"

"I spent a year without you and it was hell. So I guess I do believe it's true, even though I want a lot longer with you." She felt him relax. "And Wyatt?" She pulled his arm over her stomach. "I am content with you."

He squeezed her in response.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Congratulations to luckywynner86, the first commenter for Chapter Fifteen! Now who will get it for this chapter? CinephileSandra and griff-chan are strong contenders with how much they post.

And here is a review prompt for those lurking readers: this story has the most sex scenes I have ever written. Do they work? Are they expanding your understanding of the characters? Are they so hooky I should practice them more? Feedback please!


	17. Chapter 17

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Seventeen**

Cain woke before dawn. He left DG in their bed with a ghost of a kiss on her cheek. His back muscles screamed in protest as he dressed. He didn't want to traumatize Sprite with the dark places he had been. Seeing Raw dealing with Kalm in the Brain Room was bad enough. But this pain tempted him to ask for help regardless.

He slipped into the corridor outside their quarters, and heard a plane running over wood. Lanterns cast shadows of a person under the main stairs. Lips twitching, Cain headed aft.

This area of the hold contained stacks of boards, sawhorses, and open trunks of woodworking tools. Spencer sat on a bench shaving the pale board to the thickness he wanted. He looked up when Cain emerged from the corridor. "Morning."

"Morning. You're up early?"

The boy shrugged. "It happens. I'm not the best sleeper on board."

"I hear ya. Though speaking of sleeping," he pointed his thumb back toward his quarters, "I'm letting Thea have as much as possible."

White teeth flashed as the boy grinned. "None shall pass me but the Captain or Mr. Jenkins."

Cain nodded. "Much obliged." It seemed a taboo to ask for personal stories, which he appreciated for his and DG's sakes, but he had a suspicion that Spencer had come from higher than the criminal classes. And it was a relief to know that he could at least trust the boy. One of his first sights when he had climbed on board was Spencer and Sprite standing over DG's prone body and pushing aside the other sailors. He headed up to the galley where he could watch those stairs while cooking.

Jenkins called a meeting while most of the men were seated in the mess. "Kingsport is a working landing, men. No carousing."

The portly sailor wearing an eye-patch frowned up at the standing Jenkins. "We're not raiding Kingsport, are we?"

"Home of the Island Navy? Don't be daft, Laffite. We may need to haul ass and I don't want to deal with a drunkard if that happens. You can go shopping with a time limit, so see me if you need your cash."

The dark-skinned man with short curly black hair gestured with his tankard. "What's the time limit?"

"I'll know that once we make port, Bellamy. Anything else? To your duties then." Jenkins joined Cain at the stove as the rest of the men finished their breakfasts. "Don't worry about the other meals. The Captain wants you and your wife with her today."

"So much for buying pants." Cain handed over the list of supplies he had used in the galley.

"I'm sure she can work it into her schedule. To quote her 'I want to be close enough to smack if anyone starts more funny business.'"

Sprite carried down the dishes from the Captain's meal as Jenkins left the galley. Cain caught her before she scampered off. "Can you bring this down to Thea and make sure she's waking up?"

"Yes, Mr. Cain." She vanished down the stairs. He nearly had everything washed and put away by the time she returned. "Mate says fix you and no take no as answer."

Cain sighed, but it was typical of DG-worried about him instead of herself. Sprite tried to dart behind his back. "Wait a second."

"Nothing to fear with healing."

He shook his head and sat on the bench to be eye level with her. "I need to know you won't read me."

She cocked her bushy head to the side. "Healing not same as reading."

"There's stuff I've been through I don't want you to see." Sprite still looked confused. "Bad things a child shouldn't see. You read us so easily when we came on board, I don't want to hurt you by accident."

Her golden cat eyes gleamed. "No look without permission ever. Different when hearts scream, no choice but to feel. Better now. Mate heals heart." She patted his chest. "And I never tell what I see. All crew have secrets, even Sprite." She twisted him on the bench and set her hands on his back. He groaned as the warmth soothed the pain away.

He faced the right direction to see DG come upstairs. She smiled. "Thanks, Sprite."

"Welcome. Glad to help. Shouldn't make port in pain. Going ashore fun." Sprite patted his shoulder. "All done."

"Thank you." He watched DG wash up her dishes. "The Captain wants us with her today."

Sprite grinned. "Ashore is fun." She scampered up the stairs.

"She must mean it; she repeated it."

"She woke me up saying it." DG finished wiping the tankard dry. "Did you let me sleep in on purpose?" He nodded and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You're too good to me."

"I try." They headed upstairs, staying out of the way of the crew as they brought the ship next to the pier. The men pulled on ropes looped around huge cleats on the wooden planks with their repeated response as Drake chanted the first line.

_Haul in the bowline, my Kitty comes from Liverpool  
Haul in the bowline, the bowline, ho!  
Haul in the bowline, Liverpool's a fine town  
Haul in the bowline, the bowline, ho!  
Haul in the bowline, Kitty's on the game again  
Haul in the bowline, the bowline, ho!_

The ship moved closer to the pier with each heave. The men tying up the sails so they couldn't catch the wind sang a different song.

_Oh, a drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm  
Oh, a drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm  
Oh, a drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm  
And we'll all hang on behind._

_And we'll roll the old chariot along  
We'll roll the old chariot along.  
We'll roll the old chariot along  
And we'll all hang on behind!_

_Oh, a little mug o' beer wouldn't do us any harm  
Oh, a little mug o' beer wouldn't do us any harm  
Oh, a little mug o' beer wouldn't do us any harm  
And we'll all hang on behind._

_And we'll roll the old chariot along  
We'll roll the old chariot along.  
We'll roll the old chariot along  
And we'll all hang on behind!_

The _You and What Navy?_ nestled a few clicks from the pier and the men slung a gangplank out of the opening in the railing. Betsy and Jenkins headed down it first, followed by a skipping Sprite. Cain and DG followed. Other moored sailing ships unloaded cargo onto neighboring piers. At the opening of the bay, two ships twice the size of the _You and What Navy?_ bobbed.

The wooden planks ended on a cobblestone street running the width of the harbor. Betsy paused at the announcement board set up against a tavern. "Steward Granite will announce Commandant Thomas Slate as his adoptive heir at a celebratory ball tonight." Her voice was flat, hiding all her feelings. Cain's lips twitched. He had used that trick on occasion.

Jenkins looked at her. "Don't do anything rash."

"You think this whole thing is rash." Her eyes bored holes into the announcement board.

"'Tis, but we stand a better chance of surviving it. You face off with the leader of the Island Navy."

"Who's about to become the leader of Kingsport and the rest of the Archipelago." Betsy's hand tightened on her sword's hilt. "Power hungry bastard."

"The Isle of Yew is nice this time of year. Take a few weeks; I can pretend to be retired." Now she turned her blistering glare on Jenkins. "No? Then can you at least promise me to not kill Slate until after we found your treasure?"

"I won't start anything with him. It's not my place. I can't promise on the outcome if he starts anything with me." She took a deep breath and her bland voice returned. "Gilgad on Rinkitink was destroyed by pirates and the Island Navy commissioned another warship in response. So Slate has what now, twenty?"

"I haven't been keeping count."

"Of course not." She turned to him and dropped the sarcasm from her voice. "Keep Spencer on board."

He nodded, "Already done." He twisted, spotted Cain and DG standing as unobtrusively as possible, and handed her a money bag. "And take 'em clothes shopping, Captain."

"I'm sure we have time for that. Take what you can."

"Give nothing back." Jenkins walked away to take charge of the crew leaving the ship.

Cain fell to the rear guard position as they trailed the Captain into the marketplace. Political intrigue didn't surprise him, and neither did Betsy's vendetta against someone in law enforcement. But protecting Spencer from the political intrigue or the personal vendetta did. Along with the number of women wearing trousers, most favoring the short breeches like Betsy had given DG. Betsy turned a corner into a dingy alley of a staircase. They emerged on a street a level above the marketplace, but it had collected all odors of the market and the docks mixed with the stench of rotting mud.

Betsy crossed the street to a narrow shop front without windows. The sign that hung by one chain named the building _Trash to Treasure_ in faded, peeling paint. You could barely read the 'Open' placard hanging in the filthy window on the door. She thrust it open and the bell didn't ring, but fell on the floor with a clunk.

Once Cain was inside, Sprite darted around him, locked the door, and turned the sign over. She grinned at his scowl. Betsy never paused in her stride up to the cash exchange counter. A deep snoring filled the dark room crammed with shelves of broken and dusty knickknacks. Cain shifted so he could grab the snorer should he prove to be a threat, though Betsy and Sprite probably had plenty of practice.

Betsy picked up a wire basket filled to the brim with dusty gears and dropped it back on the counter. The clanging metal jolted the snorer to his feet. A pudgy man with stringy dark blond hair blinked at them before drawing up his jowls in a smile that displayed like a grimace. "Betsy-me-girl, er, captain. You're certainly looking ship shape. Much better than the last time I saw you."

"No doubt, Pyrite. Kukui haole poisoning has a horrid effect, but luckily, I didn't get a fatal dose."

Pyrite tugged the collar of his stained shirt away from his fat neck. Cain narrowed his eyes. "P poison? You were poisoned?" He pouted. "And I'm just now finding out? Betsy-me-girl, I thought we were friends."

Betsy pushed her hat back. "What in the deep blue sea gave you that impression?"

"The wedding?" He wilted under her glare. "Well, I figured "back off or I'll gut you like a fish' was friendly pirate banter."

"No," Betsy drew it out sweetly. "That was a friendly pirate promise."

Pyrite gulped and pulled at his shirt collar again. His blue eyes darted, taking in DG and Cain before returning to Betsy. "Yes, well, I don't know which of your pirate playmates failed at killing you, but it spared your life in other ways."

She pressed her hands on the countertop and leaned forward. "Because I was too sick to go on the expedition?"

"Betsy, it really was a wretched idea. I still have nightmares."

"And how well is Slate sleeping these days?"

Pyrite straightened his shirt, but the move didn't hide the growing sweat stains. "I'm not getting pulled into a pirate versus Navy thing. You should know better."

She leaned her right hip against the counter, leaving her sword free on her left, Cain observed. "Didn't realize the Navy marched on land as well, Nick. I don't want Slate after your blood."

"Really?" Pyrite sagged a little. "Because as much as you dislike him, he did save my life and it would be many shades of awkward."

"I understand that. All I want is to remind you of your loyalty to mutual friends." Betsy ignored his wary expression and pulled on a metal chain around her neck. A flat metal disc emerged from her black leather bodice. It had a set of fixed clock hands that sat loosely on it, like pieces were missing to make a tighter fit. "I need the rest of the astrolabe."

Pyrite's eyes bulged. "You can't be serious! We almost all died! And you don't have any magic."

"You worry about the missing pieces, and let me worry about the magic." She swung the disc in his sight line. "Where are they?"

Pyrite's mouth gaped before he moved his jaw again. Sweat gathered in all his skin creases. "I didn't tell you?"

"No." The astrolabe landed on her chest. "According to Jenkins, you dropped this and ran like a rabbit."

"Well, Mount Cove is not the savoriest place to find one's self in. I have property; I could've been targeted."

"Pyrite, pirates have better business sense. What happened to the astrolabe?"

"Those pieces were lost."

"Lost?"

"Lost," Pyrite repeated with more conviction. "It came apart and two discs rolled into the ocean. On our way back. I thought you should have what was left." He blinked rapidly as he tried to grin.

Cain was tired of the conversational dance. "He's lying."

Pyrite spluttered. Sprite stood next to DG. "Mr. Cain's right, Captain."

"Oh, who asked either of you!" Pyrite snapped before cringing when Betsy's sword swung in front of his nose. He sidestepped toward the opening to leave the counter. "Betsy, don't do anything rash!"

"Nothing rash about this. I've always wondered how many cuts would make you spill your guts, you lumpish, ill-breeding giglet!" She lunged forward as Pyrite dodged.

He landed on his back halfway past the counter. A razor-thin stripe oozed blood across his cheek. He scrambled backwards as Betsy lunged again. His protests babbled as he scooted along the dirt-encrusted floor.

Betsy didn't respond to his babbling. "What did you do?" A red line appeared across his shirt sleeve. "Where are the pieces?" A slash ran across his other cheek. "It'll hurt less if you just stay still." The material covering his knee split to reveal another red line on his skin. "What did you do!"

"The Steward has them! Steward Granite has them!" Pyrite covered his face with his hands.

Betsy propped her saber on her shoulder. "You sought the Steward's favor by giving him pieces of my astrolabe?"

"What favor?" He gestured at the dilapidated shop as he stood. Cain silently agreed the favor hadn't improved his business. "Does it look like I have the Steward of Kingsport's favor?"

"Then why?"

"To save my bloody neck!" Pyrite's face molted. "The Steward wanted assurance that the King would not return, so I split the damn thing in half and gave it to both vested parties. Satisfied?"

"Hardly." She sheathed her sword. "He's giving a ball tonight."

"It's not my fault he doesn't keep you appraised of his social schedule." Betsy growled under her breath before marching to the door. Sprite dashed ahead and opened it in front of her. "I guess we'll find out just how much your treasure really means to you," Pyrite called after them.

Cain glanced at Pyrite's sneering, blood-streaked face before slamming the store door shut behind the group.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The mystery deepens so feel free to speculate. CinephileSandra regained her first reviewer status, and Purplehino, luckywynner86, and wonderwoman56 let me know what they thought of the last chapter. I'm glad I haven't bored you guys with the smut.


	18. Chapter 18

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Eighteen**

They stopped behind Betsy in the middle of the cobblestone street. She clutched the broken astrolabe and stared at the ocean visible between the buildings. After how fast she had used the sword, DG didn't want to interrupt her thoughts. She glanced at Cain, but couldn't find any answers in his stoic expression.

Sprite didn't have any qualms of igniting Betsy's wrath. "Orders, Captain?"

She tucked the astrolabe into her black leather bodice. "Tell Jenkins to finish provisioning, then take the ship to behind the Steward's House and wait for my signal. And you stay on board and help him." Sprite saluted before running down the street. Betsy linked arms with DG and Cain. "We got a ball to get ready for." DG whined quietly. Betsy's brown eyes turned and she smirked. "Don't tell me you got ethical objections to crashing a party?"

"I don't like balls," DG admitted with a huff.

"Oh, me either. That's why Captain Betsy Bobbins doesn't go to any. However, Beth Hematite of the Archipelago always has a good time for me."

The road curved as it sloped upward, and the shops were cleaner, bigger, and freshly painted. Betsy dropped their arms, but that didn't stop the people's stares. DG heard the mutter of "sea trash" from one couple they passed.

Betsy ignored the others as she went straight into a clothing store with two windows filled with dressmaker dummies showing off dressy outfits. "Quincy! The best dressed captain in the whole Nonestic needs your personal attention!" DG swore the clothing racks swayed from Betsy's boom.

A dark-skinned man wearing a gold embroidered red silk frock coat trotted out of a back room. "Captain Bobbins! How long has it been?" He embraced her, kissing both cheeks before inspecting her attire. "And why did you come looking like that?"

"Hush." Betsy swatted his arm with a grin. "These are my working rags and you know it."

"Excuses, excuses, Sweetpea. Did you bring your dear friend Quincy any pretties?"

"Sorry, the hold is empty. I'll have to be a regular customer today."

"Sweetpea, don't you dare compare yourself to those well-dressed barnacles." Quincy straightened his back along with his dismissive gesture, and DG was surprised to see he was as tall as Cain. "You are queen of the sea, and I won't hear any claims of anything less." He surveyed his shop. "The Steward's ball?"

"The Steward's ball." Betsy nodded.

Quincy patted his coiffure that hadn't moved a millimeter despite his fluttering. "You changing Slate's height?"

"Not this trip."

"Pity, he'd look better with a close shave." He sliced a finger across his neck and both of them giggled. "Why are you here, Sweetpea? The dress I repaired for you last annual is perfect for the Big House. You didn't damage it again, did you? There's no time for repairs now!"

"Calm down. I left it with Mrs. McGrath. If anything happened to it on her watch, it's the end of the world." Betsy rolled her eyes as Quincy clutched his chest. "Mr. and Mrs. Cain are attending, and they don't have a thing to wear. But since time is limited, off the rack will suffice."

"Only because I put the best on my racks." Quincy's hazel eyes swept over Cain and DG, and DG bit her tongue to keep from apologizing for her appearance. "What class, Sweetpea?"

"Same as mine. We'll have to hide the collars."

"It's your business, Sweetpea, and you know I never interfere in your business." Quincy tapped his chin. "I recommend a silver and blue color scheme. If the collars flash accidentally, it would be assumed to be part of the garb, and both of them can wear those colors. You are attending as married, right?"

"Yes," Cain nearly growled.

"Married couples are expected to match, that's all, Sugarcane."

Betsy smirked. "You take care of Mr. Cain, while I get an outfit together for Mrs. Cain."

DG's stomach dropped as Betsy pulled her deeper into the store, leaving the two men eyeing each other. She heard Cain sigh. "What do you have in normal pants?"

"I have every possible clothing need covered, Sugarcane. Just tell Quincy what you need."

"Don't call me that." Cain growled like he would at Glitch.

Betsy stopped at a circular rack of dress bodices. "You look like I'm dragging you to an execution. Don't you want to get all dolled up for your man?"

"Not if it means killing me with a corset and high heels." DG took a deep breath to stave off panic. "Maybe I should go back to the ship."

"Actually, I need you to make sure I grab the right parts. The Steward has a sizable collection of navigation tools." She flipped through the colorful bodices. "For the shoes, you're stuck with your boots but the skirt will cover them. And unless you're undergoing corset training, there's no reason for them to hurt."

DG held the hanger Betsy thrust into her hands. "I've suspected wearing those things is a sport I haven't been trained for."

Betsy laughed. "Not quite. It's changing your body shape by using a corset. People aren't designed to have a wasp-sized waist. If you've been forced into that, I'd fire my tailor if I were you." She looked up and snorted. "Drape it on," she gestured at the bodice on the hanger.

DG fumbled with the material. The deep blue silk bodice tied closed in the back, but it had a low neckline with attached silver gauze creating a ruffle. She couldn't figure out the ruffle and the holes to get it around her neck. Betsy stopped searching the rack, guided the silver around DG's head, and fastened the ruffle closed under her chin. She nodded and turned DG to a nearby full-length mirror.

Ignoring the clothes she wore under it, the blue silk part barely covered all of her breasts as the top wrapped from armpit to armpit. The silver gauze stretched over the rest of her breasts and neck, except for a triangular opening centering on her cleavage. Diamond shapes had been embroidered into the silver gauze in blue thread. The pattern continued down the gauze that covered the blue sleeves past the shoulder puffs with silver diamonds embroidered on them. An embroidered silver and blue band of trim stretched across the top of the bodice and two bands ran down the center of her torso. DG stared at her reflection, but didn't see the hated princess-look everyone had shoved onto her.

Betsy pushed aside her black hair. "Trust me, you're going to look fabulous. Let's find the skirt."

The skirt raised all of DG's frou-frou princess fears. The overskirt was the same deep blue silk as the bodice and missing a huge triangle in the front to show off the silver underskirt with embroidered blue diamonds. Both were attached to the waistband, but it all needed a hoop skirt to hold it up. "Scarlett O'Hara I'm not," DG muttered.

"Don't knock a hoop. You'd be surprised what you can hide under one."

"A pair of pants?"

"Precisely." Betsy rolled up a piece of white silk with boning stitched through it. "Katie makes the corsets and alterations." She led DG to a small hallway adjacent to the store floor. The hallway was broken up into dressing room cubicles and ended with a circular platform in front of the three-way mirror. A matronly woman rocked in a padded rocking chair while a crocheted blanket floated in front of her-the needles moving by themselves.

She turned as they entered, and focused on DG. "My, my, do you actually need my help with clothing? With your power?"

"Not much training." DG said as the woman stood and the blanket floated to her seat.

"Thea Cain, Katie," Betsy said. "Thea needs a corset for this dress."

Katie nodded, "And alterations, I suppose. On the stand in your shirt." DG sighed as she went through the seamstress routine yet again. At least this woman didn't expect her to get naked. And she was going to use magic instead of needles and scissors. "If you don't mind a meddlesome woman giving advice," Katie interrupted DG's thoughts, "go for more training. Why, with as much power as you have, you wouldn't need to buy material to make clothes."

"Really?" DG blinked and stared at her triplicate mirror-self. No one had ever told her how much magic she could do. Well, the Mystic Man had told the Sorceress DG was stronger, but she'd never gotten a chance to ask if he meant the witch inside or Az herself.

The white boned silk floated from Betsy's hand and wrapped around DG's torso. "Relax, dearie." Katie hummed as the material cut around DG's hips and flattened against her breasts and stomach. But it didn't squeeze in her waist at all. Straps pulled themselves over the outer edge of her shoulders. The edges of the material met in the center of her back, and she felt the laces weave into the holes and pull taut. DG stared at the creation in the mirror. The corset gave her an impressive rack, but it was shaped differently than the ones they had made her where at the Palace. She still felt sick over another ball, with everyone watching for the Other Side freak to trip up.

The blue bodice zipped through the air to her body along with the hoop skirt and the skirts. DG watched the material tighten and mold to her body. The hoop made a bell out of her body, unlike the huge things she had seen in the movies. She'd be able to enter doors. "All done, dearie," Katie beamed as the clothes removed themselves. "Have fun at the party."

At the cash register, Quincy bagged up the items under a red-faced Wyatt Cain's glare. DG tugged him aside. "What's wrong?"

Cain pressed his lips together and shook his head. "I miss my badge," he finally said, still glaring at Quincy, who ignored it to haggle with Betsy.

"I don't follow."

"I never heard such, even when I patrolled the Sin District." His jaw spasmed.

DG fought not to smile. "It's our day to both be miserable."

Betsy and Quincy finished haggling and dividing which packages to deliver to the ship and which to take with them. Quincy ushered them to the door as Cain carried the clothes for the party. He leaned into DG. "You are a lucky, lucky woman." He glanced at Cain's reddening face before his eyes dropped down the Tin Man's body. "Very lucky."

DG felt her face heat up. "Yeah, I am." She brushed up against Cain's arm as they left the shop. He took a deep breath as he shouldered their packages.

Betsy led them down a few side streets to a two-story boarding house. The sign bolted beside the front door called the building _the Royal Rest_. The door under the small wooden awning opened into a white-washed living room with a check-in counter built next to the staircase. "Mrs. McGrath!"

The woman behind the counter shook her head. "I saw your ship come in, and all I could think was 'surely she's not that daft'."

"I'm a constant source of disappointment for someone. Today's your turn," Betsy grinned.

Mrs. McGrath tossed a large brass key, which the pirate caught. "Your trunk is already upstairs."

"You're a pearl, Mrs. McGrath, a pearl." Betsy bounded up the stairs. Cain shooed DG ahead of him. The Captain had opened the first door on the second floor and had vanished into an attached bathroom. DG helped Cain pile the clothing onto the quilt-covered bed as they heard water filling the tub. Betsy exited the bathroom undoing the laces of her black leather bodice. "This place always makes me feel salt-encrusted. Or barnacled maybe." She hung her hat on a bedpost, and headed to the large wooden trunk in the center of the room.

Cain caught DG's eyes with his stoic expression restored. "I'm guarding the room."

Betsy looked up from her opened trunk. "Come on. It's not like none of us haven't seen the opposite sex naked before."

"But I'm not married to you." Cain carried a chair into the hall and shut the door.

Betsy turned her disbelieving expression to DG, who shrugged. "It's best not to argue when he gets like this. Besides, maybe I don't want you to see him."

"You two are a piece of work." Betsy dropped her bodice into the trunk.

DG unwrapped the clothes after the bathroom door closed. But it didn't distract her thoughts. She turned away from the finery to stare out the window. After dealing with the height from dropping out the window, it was a straight run to the port. The _You and What Navy?_ was still there. She had run away to stop being displayed like a porcelain doll. And here she was, right back in the middle of it. To steal part of a magical artifact. _Damn_. She stuck her head out the door.

Cain sat next to it. "Something wrong?"

"Are you okay with what we're going to do?"

He blinked, taken aback by her concern. "There's something else going on besides finding some payday for a bunch of pirates."

"But it sounds like political crap."

"You do realize that everything that happened in the O.Z. for the past sixteen annuals could be presented as political crap?"

"That's a low blow, Wyatt."

"You'd feel worse if you didn't help." His lips twitched. "I'm not against breaking the laws for the right reasons. 'Sides, Pyrite thought she had a valid claim on it. Go get dressed."

DG retreated back into the room. Betsy exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. "Your turn."

She headed to her trunk, and the black tattoo on her left upper arm caught DG's eye. The letters MG were enclosed in an arc of lines that made a type of Celtic knot. "Who's MG?"

Betsy froze and didn't turn around. "Don't tell anyone about that. Ever."

"I'm sorry." DG bit her lip. "Most tattoos I've seen are images, unless the person is really important." She trailed off realizing her apology was pathetic.

Betsy's bare shoulders rolled under her wavy brown hair. "Look, you don't ask about anyone's past, ever. I could ask so much about you and Mr. Cain, hell, just on how you're used to fashion that doesn't match your lover's station." DG felt the blood drain from her face. "And how he's suffering from serious trauma. But I don't. And asking questions like that, letting things slip that you really don't know about, will get you killed." Betsy faced DG now, her face twisted with furious concern. "Don't do it."

"I'm sorry," DG whispered. "I won't tell anyone, not even Wyatt." She snatched up her chemise and retreated into the bathroom. She didn't even wait for the tub to fill halfway before jumping in and scrubbing with a bar of soap.

The anger wasn't aimed at her. Like Cain, Betsy could radiate anger outward when pissed the most at herself. But recognizing that didn't make the anger less scary. DG knew how to defuse Cain's anger; she didn't know Betsy as well. And they did owe her for getting them out of the slave market.

This bath would go down as the fastest she ever took. She dried off and decided to use her magic for clothes. Katie at Quincy's store thought she could. Clean panties shouldn't be too taxing. She closed her eyes and pictured what she wanted before pushing on her inner light. Fabric filled her hand, so she opened her eyes with a happy grin. She pulled on the new undies and the short, sleeveless chemise.

Betsy sat on the bed, pulling her boots on over skin-tight black pants. Her chemise had long sleeves and she had already tied on her front-laced, red silk corset. She gestured at the second pair of pants lying on the bed. "In case we need to drop the skirts and run."

"Are you a pirate or a boy scout?" DG pulled on the knit pants before reaching for her shoes. They clung tighter than any of the trousers she had been scolded for wearing.

"I've had training in both, but pirates don't care about the boobs." Betsy smiled. "Let's get you laced up so we're both modest enough for Mr. Cain."

Not that Cain thought they were all that modest and tried to leave again. Betsy looked up from her struggle to pull her hoop skirt out of the trunk and unfold it into its proper shape. "Oh, don't start," she snapped. "We're wearing as much as you are right now." Cain snatched up his new clothes and slammed the bathroom door shut.

Betsy's gown was red and silver. The bodice fit together with hooks and eyes down the front, and silver band of trim wrapped around the standing collar without a ruffle. The bodice and sleeves fitted smoothly over her body, and the skirts also gave her a bell-shape. Silver trim ran down the skirt front and along the hemline. Once she was satisfied with the outfit, Betsy pulled out a bulky, holstered gun and strapped it around her thigh. The skirt and hoop fell back in place, and you couldn't see the weapon. Betsy winked at DG's scrutiny. "The advantages of a hoop."

Cain exited the bathroom, freshly shaven, and militarily-erect. His dark blue jacket hugged his torso as tightly as the bodice did DG's. A small silver ruffle peeked out of the top of the high collar. Silver threads had been woven into the silk like a pinstripe, and a row of tiny buttons ran down the center of his chest. Except for the form-fitting dark blue pants, Cain looked like he stepped out of a history movie. DG took a second glance at herself and Betsy; they did too.

"Lesson time." Betsy swept their personal items into her trunk. "The Archipelago refers to all the islands scattered between Kingsport and the mainland, not counting Rinkitink. Most have their own governments, but swear allegiance to the Steward and help pay for the Island Navy." She set her sword on the bed and continued packing. "The Hematites have gobs of money and gobs of family members scattered all over the Archipelago. The Steward's people won't risk pissing off the ones paying the taxes. And since they're so large, you never have to worry about running into anyone who actually knows you're not a Hematite. So act like you're deigning to visit the mere mortals and everything should go smoothly."

DG felt her stomach sink. She wasn't a goddess with a crown; why did she keep getting swept into these situations? But Cain nodded, "So mingle and avoid this guy Slate and the Steward until we can get to the pieces and get out."

"Fairly simple plan." Betsy passed her sword to him. "You can wear this as an accessory." She locked the trunk. "Ready?"

DG's lurching heart remembered what happened at the last ball she had attended. She breathed deeply. "No, but we better go and get this over with."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** CinephileSandra was first again with a funny comment how a lot of characters are named like they are from the town of Bedrock. There's a whole other reason why they all have "rocky" names in the Archipelago. And griff-chan was the only other one who commented on the plot. I hope Quincy's awesomeness inspires more reviews for this chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Nineteen**

Cain kept DG's arm threaded through his and felt her trembling as they wove through the first floor of the Steward's House. None of the guests spared them a second glance. A few recognized Betsy and asked her where Beth Hematite had been for the last couple of annuals. "Busy with business," was her answer. If anyone was curious about Cain and DG, she said they were her cousins. That was enough of a cover story, so when they got separated, Cain pulled DG toward the refreshments set up in a large dining room.

The electric lights bouncing off the white plaster walls and the gold and ocean-hued blue moldings chased away all shadows. The wooden floors were polished to a mirror-like sheen. But DG still cringed. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I hate being on display. I hate it!" Her fervent whisper didn't go further than him. "All of the snobs thinking they're better than everyone else because of a title, and they're certainly better than me. And it's so entertaining waiting for me to screw up." She grabbed a flute of wine and drained it in one swallow. The fake stones in the hair net pulling her long black hair off her shoulders glittered as she jerked.

He took the glass. "You don't need liquid courage tonight. No one's paying any attention to you, my darling girl. Just look." She released his arm and turned to the crowd. She faced him again with a relieved twitter of a laugh. He feared messing up the beautiful vision she made in the blue and silver gown, but he pressed his hand into the small of her back and pulled her closer anyway. "See, it's alright."

"I hope the party is better than alright," answered a male voice behind Cain. He faced a young man with close-cropped back hair dressed in a white military uniform. "Commandant Thomas Slate."

"Wyatt Hematite," Cain pumped the offered hand, "and my wife Thea."

"I'm afraid you misheard." A light blush spread across DG's cheeks. "I'm just nervous about our first visit to Kingsport. The party is lovely."

Slate raised DG's hand to his lips. "You shouldn't have any fears about Kingsport, Madame. We're honest folks with simple tastes."

Cain kept his face impassive, but his annuals as a Tin Man made him suspicious of a bunco. So many of them claimed to be honest, too.

"What we've seen of it has been beautiful," DG answered.

"Have we met before, Mrs. Hematite?" Slate's expression was curious, but a predatory gleam filled his hazel eyes. "You seem familiar."

"You sailed with the Navy, right? Not only a desk job over the whole thing? You may have visited our home." Cain offered Slate his widest grin before pulling DG away. "Beth is signaling for a rescue. Pleasure meeting you, Commandant."

"Oh and congratulations," DG called over her shoulder as they entered the press of people again. "Wyatt, did he give you the creeps?"

They turned through an archway and found themselves in the ballroom. "Yes, but let's compare notes later." Betsy waited at the servants' entrance, and they made their way to her around the guests watching the dancers.

"You two are going to make me lose my bet. Come on." She pushed them through the servants' door. "Straight ahead, then a right to the back stairs."

"What bet?" DG asked the brown wavy hair escaping the red hair net similar to DG's white one as Betsy got in front of them.

"Which one? Most involved which room I would find you newlyweds in."

Cain's lips twitched as he begrudgingly gave her credit for an answer to why they were wandering where they shouldn't. "So where are we most notorious for being inappropriate?"

Betsy smirked while DG gaped at his amusement. "The plants in the conservatory suddenly sprouted underwear while a garden party was going on right outside." The second floor's blue carpet runner muffled their footsteps as they went straight to a set of double doors alone at the end of the house. The doors rattled under her grasp. "Locked of course."

DG shooed with her hands. "Locks I can deal with." The glow from her hand spread over the door latch as she opened the door.

Cain touched her arm and DG moved aside so he could enter. It was a people-empty room lined with filled bookshelves. Six display cases marched down the center of the room toward the massive wooden desk to the right, opposite the large fireplace. Two floor-to-ceiling glass doors were closed, but the stone railings of the balconies were visible with the muted light from the lamps on the bookcases, desk, display cases, and the circular meeting table in the corner between the fireplace and the window door.

Betsy and DG hurried in, shutting the door. "The navigation tools are in the display cases." DG headed to the closest glass-topped box of a table while Betsy headed to the desk. Cain's steps sank into the thick blue, black, and gold patterned rug. He frowned at the pirate captain. She scrutinized the papers left on the desk. "Go guard your wife; I've got these."

"I thought we were only taking the pieces of the astrolabe."

Betsy sighed. "I'm not pilfering, Lawman. But if they left something important out, I'm reading it. Oh, Steward Granite's will!" She seized it with a grin.

Cain shook his head and returned to DG's side at the first display case. She ran her golden-glowing hand over the glass without touching it. "Nope, not in this one." She moved to the case behind her.

"The last heir for the Steward's personal money is a fund for taking care of storm victims. I didn't think Bornite had a philanthropic bone in his body."

"No family?"

"His only son disappeared. The Steward still has him listed, along with any children from his loins. Sheesh, nothing worse than a poetic lawyer."

"Found them!" DG opened up the case and held up a whole astrolabe that glowed. "They've been put into this one."

Betsy snorted as she came around the desk. "Pyrite didn't think of that. Otherwise, mine would have been doctored too."

"Did he want you to go after the missing pieces?" Cain frowned.

"Wouldn't put it past him to manipulate all the sides into squabbling with each other while he dives down." Betsy froze mid-step when the door rattled. Cain gripped DG's shoulders and pulled her to him. She dropped the astrolabe into her cleavage before wrapping her arms around his neck. Betsy raised her voice. "I can't take you two anywhere. At least I found you before your clothes are off. Come on."

"Don't stop on my account, Bobbins." Slate said as the door shut with a firm click.

DG sprang back, and Cain watched Slate stalk towards Betsy. She thrust up her chin and her right hand went behind her back. "I am afraid you have confused me with someone else, sir."

"Then you won't mind if I see for myself." Slate seized her left arm, but Betsy didn't fight him off. He pulled loose the lace tying the red sleeve to the bodice. The sleeve fell down. He twirled a small knife before slitting her white chemise sleeve. Cain saw the black ink on her arm when Slate turned it. "I'm insulted you think that I'm too stupid to discover your alias."

"Actually, I thought you'd be too busy accepting the ass kissing to notice me." Betsy freed her arm.

"Still as diplomatic as ever. Do you have any idea what the Steward would do if he caught you in here?"

"I'll venture it wouldn't be to send me on my way with his blessings."

Slate swallowed most of his ire. "I hope you are this amused with your execution, Pirate."

"Please, that's the best you can come up with? Hire a speechwriter if you become Steward."

His thick black eyebrow quirked. "If?"

"If. So don't patronize me with concern about my well-being, we both know you don't give a shit."

Slate glanced over at DG and Cain standing next to the display case. "You have no idea what you're messing with, Bobbins. I'm hardly the worst out on the Nonestic." He put away his knife. "You can see which way the wind blows. If you position correctly, you won't be blown away."

"Like you have?" Betsy swished her skirts, forcing Slate back a step. "You've thrived after the expedition. Does the boy born under the docks appreciate the manor?"

Slate smirked as he shook his head. "You hardly have room to talk about bettering one's station." He stopped smirking with Betsy's glare. "Can't you see this animosity between us is unnecessary? Surely we can reach an accord."

She batted away his reaching hand. "I'm not interested in an accord. And I'm certainly not interested in letting you off the hook."

"You try my patience, woman."

"You turn my stomach, so I guess we're even."

He took a deep breath, but his hazel eyes flashed. "Give me the astrolabe and sail away from this."

"You think you can have everything that was his?" Betsy's brown eyes narrowed. "Granted, you haven't had much opposition."

"Bobbins, I'm not the enemy." Slate leaned in closer with an expression of concern. "The expedition was a tragedy that does not bear repeating. Are you prepared to lose the lives of your men, your own? Give up this hell-bent quest, and make your life here and now."

Betsy tilted her head. "With you?" Slate smiled with hooded eyes, which opened wide when her right hand drew a thin-bladed dagger from behind her back and held it under his chin. Her left hand took his shorter blade and drove it into the desk. Slate stepped back and she followed with a fury-reddened face. "I'm a pirate, not a whore!"

Slate's tan skin darkened as he glowered. "Your way of life is coming to an end; I will see to that!"

"You did enough damage to my life already." Betsy sighed but didn't take her eyes off Slate. "Can one of you find something to restrain him with?"

"You can use my skirts." DG offered with a wicked grin.

"Last resort," Cain muttered. He moved to the desk to see what kind of power cord was on the lamp. It didn't matter what Slate was responsible for; Cain wouldn't put a skirt on another lawman.

One of the doors to the hall swung open. "Slate, no one has seen them for ages." Pyrite stopped inside the doorway and blinked. "Oh, you found them." His voice trailed off as he tugged the caveat away from his neck.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope this cliffhanger pleases. Let me know if it does, it doesn't, or about any wild conjectures you want to make at this point.

CinephileSandra is still in first place. Raven Ki-Lin, griff-chan, and luckywynner86 weren't able to beat her yet. And we had a new reviewer show up last chapter, hi Lauramichca! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty**

Cain silently cursed as he moved to grab Pyrite. Betsy shoved Slate into his arms instead. "He trusted you!" she screamed. Out of the corner of his eye, Cain saw Pyrite fall, but Slate's frenzied punches needed his attention as they both went to the floor.

He slugged the younger man in the jaw, and seized the lapels of the white uniform jacket to keep Slate from worming away. "Let go of me, pirate scum!"

They rolled and Cain stopped them against a display case. His ear rang from the fist slammed against it, but he didn't flinch staring down at Slate. "You need better people skills." His punch split Slate's bottom lip.

Slate freed an arm and leg, and slammed them both into Cain's side. A dress brushed over Cain's back, and Betsy punched Slate in the nose. "It's Captain, Commandant! I earned my title just like you did."

The young man reached behind him, grabbed two legs on the display case, and lifted. "No you don't!" DG slammed her hands on the other end.

Cain grunted as he twisted and gripped Slate. Slate kicked Cain, freeing himself. His next grapple pulled Betsy's legs out from under her. She landed next to Cain with her legs and skirts draped over his back. Slate scuttled to the door, crawling over Pyrite. DG raced after him, but he made it to the hall. She slammed the door shut and a golden glow surrounded the wood. She grabbed Betsy's hands and pulled. "They can't get through that shield, but neither can we."

"Time to run." Betsy reached around her waistband to loosen the skirts. Cain sat up to take stock. Betsy's dagger stuck out of Pyrite's throat. "Not one self-righteous word." Her face and voice held a tenth of the fury she had displayed when she had thrown it, but it was enough to see how she had earned the nickname 'Blood-rage.'

DG stepped out of her skirts. "What do we do now? Simple plan has FUBARed."

Cain shook his head. _Why does she use an Other Side term to confuse everyone?_

"Beyond all recognition," Betsy agreed. "Two-faced, puny, flirt-gills." The red skirts fell in a lumpy heap as she stepped out of them. Fists pounded against the magically shielded doors. She ignored them as she turned the skirts over. "And you'd think they'd grow a brain and stop underestimating me."

Cain whistled low. Sewn into Betsy's hoop skirt were four revolvers, ammunition quick loaders, and rope coils filled the whole bottom panel between the hem and the lowest hoop. Another bulky gun was holstered on her thigh. He stood and pulled off her sword baldric. "Give me the rope."

Betsy pulled another thin-bladed dagger out of the bottom of her red bodice. "How many of those do you have in there?" DG asked.

"This is why Quincy hates repairing my dress on short notice." She sliced the rope panel free from the rest of the skirt, passing the material, rope, and knife to Cain. He headed to the window door closest to the house corner.

Cain had most of the rope freed from the material and secured to the railing by the time Betsy and DG joined him on the balcony. The balmy wind blew in from the ocean below. He took one of the revolvers from DG and checked the bullets. "Can you shoot that?" He nodded at the revolver in her belt.

DG's blue eyes looked rueful. "I learned on a shotgun."

"Save it for self-defense." Betsy adjusted the sword baldric around her torso. "We need to get away from the house before I signal Jenkins."

Cain nodded, tucked the gun in his belt, and swung his legs over the carved-stone railing. The rope reached the lawn behind the manor house. No guards had headed to the back yet, so he eased down. DG followed next, looking a little sick as she stumbled away from the rope. "Now I'm glad we did that exercise in gym," she muttered.

Betsy pointed to a cluster of funny-shaped trees northwest of the Steward's House. "Head there and watch out for the cliff."

Two of the moons lit the grounds. A low stone wall that stretched behind the house in a wavy line probably marked the cliff. A tall hedge blocked off part of the grounds beside the house. The funny-shaped trees they ran toward stood between the stone wall and the massive hedge. As they got closer, he saw they had been trimmed into fish.

Shouts came from the front of the house and a dozen men in white uniforms ran for them. Betsy fired first, and one fell. The rest scattered as Cain added his shots. He shoved DG to the base of one of the trees as more guards ran around the house.

Betsy aimed her bulky gun over the cliff. The large slug exploded into a red fire that streaked through the black sky. She dropped it onto the ground and returned fire with a revolver. Cain paused to shove the quick loader bullets into his. Some guards broke for the large hedge. Betsy's quick shots brought both down. The red glow faded above them.

Cain frowned. "Was that the signal?"

"Aye." She scanned the cliff. A loud boom echoed from the ocean, and something whistled as it came closer. Betsy found the black object lobbing through the air first. It arced down at them. "Dodge!"

He threw DG and himself to the side, covering her with his body. The ground shuddered and dirt rained down, but no explosion followed. Cain twisted and saw Betsy scrambling toward the round ball.

DG pushed and forced him off her. "Is that a cannonball?"

"A specialty cannonball." Betsy hit it with her fist and the metal cracked open. "There's a guy in Mount Cove who creates magic items." The hollowed-out cannonball held three zipline pulleys. She passed two of them for DG to hold. The zipline itself was anchored in the top half of the cannonball, which Betsy wrapped around the trunk of the closest tree. The line passed over the stone wall. "Zipline shot for when there's no other way out." She hopped over the stone wall with the third pulley.

Cain fired at the guards while DG crawled over the wall. He rolled over it next, spacing it so not to land on the girls. "You knew we were going to get caught." The wall was set three clicks from the edge of the cliff. The line stretched down to the ship in the small cove roughly thirty clicks below.

Betsy fastened the first pulley onto the line. "It would have been extremely careless not to consider the possibility, but I was hoping we could have used the dingy. Zipline shot is expensive! You first, Thea."

DG pressed her back against the wall without trying to hide her fear. "I can't! I can't!"

Cain shot at the guards daring to get closer. "You've done this before. Go!"

"That was before the Tower! I can't!"

Cain frowned as Betsy fired over the wall. She had never shown a fear of heights, but then he remembered that they hadn't dealt with any in the few cycles he had been with her before being sent away. He thrust the revolver into his belt. "Will the line hold us both?"

"Never tried it before," Betsy admitted.

A bullet hit the stone and sent chips flying. "No time like the present." He ducked and scooted to DG. "Come on, sweetheart. Time to go." Her lips went white. "We don't have a choice," he barked. "Go!"

DG gulped but scooted to the line. Betsy traded revolvers and kept the guards occupied. Cain wrapped the pulley's strap under DG's arms before gripping both handholds. "Don't let go," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck, wrapped her legs around his waist, and hid her face against his chest.

"And don't you shapeshift on me." He pushed off with a helping shove from Betsy. DG's mouth opened against his chest but she didn't scream. He wasn't sure if he could've heard her with the wind rushing past his ears. There was no need to swing to keep the momentum. He drew up his legs in case they would slam against the growing larger ship.

The end of the line had been secured to the main mast. He unhooked DG's strap before letting go. Cain dropped to the deck, wrapping his arms around her as they fell. The sailors caught him and guided him down to his feet. "Easy does it, men!" Jenkins boomed. "They're fine? Then clear the deck for the Captain!"

Cain found himself and DG pushed to Jenkins's side in front of the poop deck. "Any trouble for you?"

"Not for us." Jenkins's eyes glittered. "Don't you clean up fancy. Not sure about the accessory though." He waved a hand at DG, who still hadn't unlocked her arms and legs.

Cain smirked at the older man before rubbing her back. "You can let go now, Thea. We're on the ship now."

DG trembled. "I'm trying! It's my body that's not listening."

Jenkins chuckled as he grabbed her legs and tugged them loose. "We don't send you up to the crow's nest."

She stiffly moved and glanced at Cain. "Sorry. I didn't know I'd freak out like that."

He ran his hands over her arms. "You still have the magical doohickey?"

She patted the front of her bodice. "Yeah. Where's Betsy?"

"Coming down now." Cain and DG turned to the cliff. The slim figure sped through the sky. Jenkins raised a telescope to his eye. "Damn, they're on top of the cliff. Come on, Betsy."

DG gasped as the figure in the air stopped gliding on the angle and fell straight down. The rest of the crew yelled as the zipline went slack at the mast. Cain rushed to the railing with Jenkins and DG beside him.

Betsy twisted in the air. Her arms and head came down, turning her body into an arrow that plunged into the inky water. The crew grabbed the zipline and hauled it onto the ship. "Belay that!" Jenkins bellowed. "You don't know how the Captain's tangled!" The men laid off the line to stare into the water.

Cain gripped the railing, almost silently praying for Betsy to surface. He didn't approve of her career, but they needed her to survive out here and return to the country he knew. DG clutched his arm.

The head finally broke through the surface. Betsy waved and swam toward the ship. "Haul boys haul!" Jenkins ordered. The crew pulled the zipline in concert. Betsy coordinated her swimming to their pulling.

"Quartermaster!" Bonnet cried from the steering wheel. "Ship bearing down on our port side!"

"Fie!" Jenkins ran to the other side of the ship. "It's the Relentless. Gunners, ready the port guns! Everyone else get the Captain on board!"

Cain took the place of a gunner on the zipline. DG moved down the railing to the opening for the gangplank. "Slower! You're going to slam her into the hull!" The crew listened and paused. She knelt on the deck and reached. Betsy climbed onto the deck with her hand clasped to DG's arm.

She wrung the water out of her brown hair as she gazed over the deck. "Jenkins?"

"We got the _Relentless_ bearing down on us, Captain!"

Betsy grinned. "Slate's not commanding. He's still at the party. Battle stations!" She grabbed Cain's arm on her way to the poop deck. "Take your wife and Spencer to my quarters. Go!"

Cain didn't argue before giving DG a shake. "Captain's quarters, go." She ran for the main hatch as soon as he let her go. He found Spencer rooted to the deck and staring at the cannons being loaded. "Come on, son. We got to get below." He had to pull the dazed Spencer along.

DG whirled around when they entered. "They're going to fight that other ship?"

"That's what it looks like." Cain looked around the Captain's quarters for the safest spot for his princess. He turned Betsy's trunk against the end of the bed to provide cover on the port side. "Here. You too, Spencer."

She had to push the stunned Spencer to the floor. "What's wrong with him?"

Cain shrugged as he sat on the trunk. "I'm just following orders, sweetheart. You should ask him." The cannons beside the Captain's quarters replied to distant booms. Spencer cried out as he curled, clutching his head. DG looked at the boy in concerned dismay before hugging him. The cannons paused. "But I don't think he can answer you now."

"Hodges said he survived a massacre." DG said before the next volley drowned out their thoughts. "Wyatt!"

He wrapped his arms around both of them and soothed DG with the touch of his fingers. The ship shuddered; something had struck them. Where on the ship he wasn't certain, but no frenzied shouts or sounds of gushing water followed. He continued to hold onto them both, figuring there was enough time to get to the gun in his belt if needed.

The explosions from the other ship sounded further away. And the _You and What Navy?_'s cannons didn't respond. DG raised her head and looked into Cain's eyes. He squeezed her arms before heading to the windows. The _Relentless_ fell further behind as the larger ship struggled to turn. "I think we're getting away. At least, the other ship isn't catching up."

"I guess that's good." She turned her attention to the sobbing boy in her arms. "It's over, Spencer. It's okay."

The door creaked open and Betsy didn't even blink at the gun Cain aimed at her. "Shite, so much for that hope. Take care of him and we'll take care of the ship."

Cain holstered the revolver in his belt before heading to DG and Spencer. He sat on the floor next to them, pulling Spencer out of DG's arms. "Get him some water." The boy burrowed against him in a way Jeb hadn't since annuals before the suit. "It's over now, Spencer. It's alright, son." His hand cradled the smaller head, trying to give solace to Spencer's grief.

"They're all dead. They're all dead."

"The Captain would have said something if they were all dead."

Spencer shook his head without lifting it. "Back home." His inhale caused his whole body to shake. "I couldn't save them. I was supposed to save them!"

"Sometimes, you can't. Sometimes, all you can do is save your own worthless hide." Cain rocked the boy, hoping his words could ease the pain. "Did you start it?"

"Pingaree wasn't at war. They just opened fire." The tears stopped, but Spencer's voice was raw with a haunted past. "And it was the same ship. We were attacked by the same ship that attacked my home."

It clicked for Cain, much like when he had investigated crimes. "The Captain had you looking for it."

"It didn't match pirate attacks. And no pirates boasted of any of the attacks." Spencer savagely wiped his face. "I can't do anything else, but find out who killed my family, my people." DG sat on the trunk, holding out a goblet of water and a damp washcloth. He took the water before the washcloth, refusing to look DG in the eye. "I should not have. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We understand about survivor's guilt." DG's innocent assurance made the boy more uncomfortable.

Cain passed her the goblet. "Get him some more water." Her look plainly said she was playing along because they had an audience before taking the goblet and going back to the bathroom. He squeezed Spencer's shoulder. "Thea helps people. You did nothing wrong by turning to her while in distress. She'd be more upset if you hadn't."

Spencer took the goblet of water from DG with a grateful smile. "Survivor's guilt?"

"Stories for another time," Cain gestured at the doors with his head, "when not so many ears are about."

"I should tell the Captain. She needs to know." Spencer climbed to his feet.

"She needs to know what?" Betsy and Sprite entered the cabin. Jenkins closed the door.

Spencer still looked sick. "That ship was the one that attacked Pingaree."

"Are you sure, lad?" Jenkins asked. Betsy's face was somber like a mask.

"Aye, I'm sure. Same figurehead, same configuration of sails. I swear to it on my father's pearls."

"This is not the way I wanted you to confirm it, Spencer." Betsy's brown eyes glimmered. "Are you alright?"

"No, Captain. But I'm not jumping into the water holding a cannonball. I know it wasn't your plan."

Sprite lashed her arms around his waist. "Poor Inga. I stay with you tonight and keep the bad dreams away."

"It's Inge, Sprite. Inge."

"I like Inga better."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "You would. Come on, show me where the holes in the ship are."

Betsy whirled to face Jenkins as soon as the two youngest of the crew shut the door. "I hope you're happy!"

"Me?"

"I had him dead to rights but no, you had to make me promise not to kill the slimy bastard. And look what he did to my shirt!" She thrust her hand through the hole in the white sleeve before whirling to face DG. "Tell me you still have the pieces."

"They're stuck." DG patted the front of her silver and blue bodice.

"Out of corsets." Betsy pounced on her trunk and pulled out two shirts. "Best idea tonight." She pulled DG into the bathroom with her. Cain raised both eyebrows. He wasn't sure if there was enough room for both of them to move in the small room.

Jenkins heaved a sigh. "Do you drink, Mr. Cain?"

"I wouldn't say no to one after tonight." He undid the top buttons on the doublet and shirt so he could breathe as best he could with the damn collar on.

"And I say I'm glad I'm not her husband or her father." Jenkins pulled a squat glass bottle filled with an amber liquid and two small goblets out of the cabinets. "Scotch?"

"Never had it. I'm more of a whiskey drinker."

He poured a measure into the two goblets. "Probably a flavor difference but not enough to worry about. To your health."

Cain slugged the drink back after the toast. The familiar barley-malt taste had an added smoky tang that reminded him of the fuel used in the marshes around Lake Country. "That has a kick."

"Aye." The door vibrated from the knocking. "Good lord, that man is persistent." Jenkins stowed the bottle back in the cabinet. "Or suicidal." He opened the door for Hodges, Benavides, Roberts, and Teach just as Betsy and DG left the bathroom, holding the astrolabes.

Hodges looked aghast at the navigation tools. "All that for pieces of junk?"

"Changing careers? I'm sure appraising will bring you a tidy profit." Betsy headed to the table. "I'm positive your charming personality will win you many repeat customers. Or you could kill the competition."

Hodges scowled hard enough to make the scarred side of his face move. "We nearly died for that broken bauble?"

The brown-haired woman refrained from slamming her astrolabe on the table, but that saved her fury for her stride to the crewmen. "I have learned several pieces of news today that have made me cranky and I haven't killed nearly enough people to feel better. So do you want to rectify that situation, Hodges? Or do you want to keep breathing?"

The gang behind Hodges took a step back. "I hope our shares are worth all this," he muttered as they left.

"They will be." Betsy slammed the door shut and leaned against it.

"Don't look at me," Jenkins said. "I told you to run him through."

"Don't remind me." She stalked to the table. "Any ideas on how to get all the pieces together again?"

DG looked up from her examination. "Taking this fake one apart, easy. One simple nut and bolt. The bolt doesn't unscrew on the magic one." She held up that one.

Cain looked over her shoulder. "Maybe it takes magic." DG's hands filled with a golden glow that spread to the astrolabe in her hands.

The glow wobbled before petering out. "Now that's messed up," DG said.

"What is?" Betsy leaned her hands onto the table.

"It doesn't have a mind to tell it what to do. But it sensed that I don't have a clue and blew a big raspberry at my suggestion to reassemble."

"A what?" Cain asked.

Betsy answered by making a rude noise with her tongue. "That," DG answered. "I don't want to break it because I don't know what I'm doing."

"There's only one choice then." Betsy stood.

"We're going to raid Arol," Jenkins said hopefully.

"We're going to see the Shaman."

Jenkins's moustache bristled. "I thought you said we weren't going to deal with the Shaman again."

"You don't have to go." She sank into a chair and stared down at the astrolabes. "It's my quest; I'll bear the costs." Jenkins started to protest, but she forestalled him with a raised hand. "Bitch about my decision in the morning. Now goodnight."

Cain pulled DG out while Jenkins shuffled after them. "Will there be trouble?"

"Depends on what you mean by trouble. But then, you married a witch; maybe you don't think they're trouble." He continued down the corridor to his quarters.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** We can't take this group anywhere, can we? People always trying to capture or kill them. CinephileSandra is still in first place. I think she must be the only person on the planet who gets up earlier than I do! Luckywynner86 and griff-chan also chimed in with how much they liked the hi-jinks at the Steward's Ball. If you have the fanmix soundtrack for this story, tracks 11 and 12 are for the last chapter and this one. If you don't have the soundtrack, tell me in a review and will tell you where to download it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-one**

The _You and What Navy?_ anchored off a small island the next afternoon. The rules from yesterday must still be in force, because DG and Cain were going ashore with Betsy and Sprite. They rowed to the rickety dock in the dingy. Betsy straightened the blue and white striped sleeveless vest she wore over another long-sleeved white shirt.

Whatever problems Cain had had with Quincy, he hadn't let them deter him from new pants for him, and new shirts for both of them. The way Betsy treated her appearance made DG glad they had fresh clothes to wear while meeting this Shaman.

"Should we be nervous too?" Cain asked and DG heard the smirk in his voice, even if it wasn't visible.

Betsy scowled at him. "I have respect for power and those who use it wisely. The Shaman does. I don't go looking to piss her off on purpose."

"But pissing off Slate is fair sport?"

"Not really. It's a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent most times." Betsy sighed, "He earned his title, but the Island Navy has changed under his command." She led the way down the dock.

"By fighting pirates better?"

She glared at Cain's blank face. "By consolidating his ships around ports so large no pirates would ever attack them. By pressing boys Spencer's age from the smaller islands into service. By shanghaiing seasoned sailors; that's why Morgan and Jones joined our crew. By building warships to deal with a pirate menace that doesn't exist." She pressed her lips together before continuing. "Yes, Lawman, we steal and extort to get things that don't belong to us. But we have to sell those items to make a profit. Every pirate worth his salt knows you can't kill off your markets."

DG shrugged as Cain faced her with his raised scarred eyebrow. "No, I didn't tell her about your former occupation." She hurried after Betsy and Sprite, leaving Cain to bring up the rear.

The dock led to a wooden boardwalk built above the white sand beach. The buildings of this settlement were built off the boardwalk, made of plastered walls and roofs thatched with dried palm leaves. Betsy strode to the largest at the other end of the beach.

A black-skinned giant squatted next to the door and still seemed even with Cain's height. "Captain Bobbins and guests, the Shaman is expecting you." His large hand nudged the wooden-plank door open.

The room stretched up to the rafters holding the thatched roof. Colorful woven rugs hung on the plaster walls and rested over the hard dirt floor. Other than the shelves filled with jars, the circular table and chairs were the only furniture in the space.

A tapping sound filled the space. "So the good girl captain has come back." Cain pushed DG behind his back and she let him. Her magic crackled in response to the probing from the singsong voice coming out of the dark hallway on the other side of the room. "And she brings the Viewer child and more." A wizened, stooped woman entered the room. She wore a loose gown in a blue as bright as the waters surrounding the island and a purple turban covered her hair. The tapping noise came from the cane in her right hand as she moved forward, checking for obstacles. "Betsy-me-girl comes to beg for help, and she brings witnesses to see her beg." She sat at the table and DG saw that her eyes were covered with a milky film. "That alone should make the Shaman pause."

Betsy sat down across from her. "You're looking well, Shaman."

"The gods still have work for me to do. I 'spect to wake up one day on their side, so each day I don't is another I'm here to consult. Let's start with the one who wants nothing in return." The Shaman shifted in her seat until she looked directly at Sprite. Her smile lifted all the wrinkles on her face. Sprite beamed. "Your journey's end, the end you wish for, is very close now. All signposts have been reached, but there is danger ahead. I pray you not fall to it."

Betsy's hand clenched into a fist on the table. "I won't let Sprite come to harm."

The Shaman turned her blind gaze back to Betsy. "You taunt the King unless you give up this quest. That endangers the child. Will you stop seeking the domain of living rock?"

"You know I won't."

"And you know I won't lie to anyone." The Shaman blinked her blind eyes. "Now ask."

Betsy pulled the astrolabes out of her belt pouch. "The magic one has been split and we can't put it back together."

The Shaman sighed as her clouded eyes swept over Betsy again. "You shed blood over this already."

"Pyrite was a betrayer." Her brown eyes didn't flinch. "I'm willing to face your boogeyman for my treasure, and you don't think I'll kill for that?"

"It's not me you must convince. And I cannot give you absolution." The Shaman hung her cane on the edge of the table. Her head tilted to stare at Cain with blind eyes. "What does a Tin Man guard across desert and sea?" Her eyes dropped and bored into DG's until she hid her face behind Cain's arm. "You cannot hide from me, woman-child."

DG took a deep breath and stepped beside Cain. "Hi."

The Shaman's ashy, dark skin paled as DG felt magic wash over her. "By the gods, Betsy-me-girl, what are you thinking? Are you thinking?"

Betsy twisted her head to look at DG and then the Shaman. "Trying to work everything out to everyone's benefit. I get what I want and they get out of a nasty slavery situation. What's the problem?"

The old woman chuckled, a rich sound coming from a shriveled being. "And I thought I'd seen all in life, gods be praised." DG looked up at Cain to find him looking down at her. "You know not who you have."

Betsy swiveled between both magic users. "Okay, that should be pretty damn obvious by now."

"She is the lost Princess of the Outer Zone." The Shaman waved at DG. "The one raised on another world, Slayer of the Sorceress." Betsy's eyes widened as she stared at DG.

"Exorcised, not dead," DG hissed.

Cain squeezed her arm. "Let that be."

"You plan on taking a daughter of the House of Gale to the domain of living rock?" The Shaman pressed her hands on the table. "The sleeping Nome King will surely wake at that. He changed the shape of the land to escape the House of Gale. Do you understand at last why you must stop, Betsy-me-girl?"

The blood had drained from Betsy's face. "Is it true?"

"I didn't slay the Sorceress," DG huffed and Cain sighed. "Yeah, I'm Dorothy Gale of the House of Gale, please call me DG. But I quit being the Princess."

"Quit? You abdicated the throne?"

"No, she ran away," Cain answered. Betsy looked horrified.

"No one told me there was a formal ceremony to quitting! Announcing it on the Other Side works just fine!" DG threw up her hands.

"What is it with me and royalty? Do I have a magnet or something?" Betsy soothed her hair back from her forehead as she grappled with the information.

"The more important question is what are you doing messing with the Nome King?" Cain shifted to glare at Betsy.

"Who is the Nome King?" DG asked, mentally kicking herself for having to. "They didn't think I should know any ancient history or they forgot that I don't know any ancient history."

"King Roquat of the gnomes attacked the O.Z. a few times, but the Great Gale and Ozma the Great always stopped him. Eventually he stopped trying and disappeared in a natural disaster that hit the Kingdom of Ev." Cain didn't take his eyes off Betsy.

"That he caused it is a minor detail," the Shaman added.

"We are not having anything to do with a plan that brings her any closer to the Nome King." Cain's eyes glittered with ice. "Release us or sell us back."

"Wyatt," DG started until he turned his stare on her.

"The fate of the world isn't at stake here, just some treasure. You are not going on a suicide run for that." Cain's scowl matched his glare.

Betsy's fists dropped to her lap as she closed her eyes. Sprite crept up to her side and rubbed her arm. "Trust, Captain. Tell them truth."

She opened her brown eyes to look at the Viewer. "You're asking for too much."

"Harder now, yes. Necessary, yes. The Captain does not avoid necessary because it is hard."

Betsy sighed as she looked at Cain and DG. Her brown eyes swung back to the table top. "The treasure I seek is my daughter, Treasure Granite, and her father, Malachite."

"The initials on your tattoo," DG said.

"Our wedding bands."

"You married the Steward's son?" DG's eyes widened.

"Bornite doesn't know about that. He raised holy hell when Mal made Treasure his heir. We didn't think it was a good time to break the news that the pirate who kidnapped him once was now his bride."

"You kidnapped him?" Cain raised his scarred eyebrow.

"I didn't know who he was! Then I didn't believe him when he told me. So by the time the ransom was finally on the table, he helped us get it. Called it his dowry," she laughed. "We married after we found out I was pregnant." The mirth died on her face. "Just after Treasure turned two, Malachite wanted to see if there was any truth to the Nome King legend. He was the first magic user in the Granite family in generations, and he could power the astrolabe. He had worked out all the details to make it an Island Navy expedition. I insisted on going along with the _You and What Navy?_."

"And then you were poisoned," DG added. "And Pyrite and Slate were the only ones who came back."

Betsy nodded. "My husband and child are prisoners of the Nome King. But you can't expect pirates to sign up for a rescue mission."

"So you lied." Cain's lips twitched.

"Hell, even you freaked out! I can't sail the ship alone."

"And you need magic for the astrolabe," DG said.

"I've been looking for a magic user for a year. You're the second I've found who could make it work."

"What about the first one?" Cain hitched his thumbs in his belt.

Betsy pointed to the Shaman. "I no leave my island ever, Tin Man," she said.

"But you can fix the astrolabe?" DG steeled herself for Cain's reaction.

"Sweetheart." That was so not a term of endearment when he said it that way.

"I have the knowledge you lack, daughter of Gale." The milky eyes bored into DG's. "But you don't make this decision for just yourself."

DG laid a hand on her stomach. "What kind of mother would I be if I don't help another?" Only the skin twitching over Cain's jaw broke his stoic faade. "You know it's the right thing to do. I won't leave your side, Wyatt, I promise."

She had to root her feet not to run from his coming explosion. "My job is to keep you safe. The choice is yours, Princess." He hadn't sounded so cold since before their first trip to Central City.

She flinched, but she wouldn't back down. Not when someone, especially a child, needed help. "I thought I was more than just a job to you." His eyes winced, even if the rest of his face didn't move. "But we promised to help and we're going to help."

Betsy stared at both of them. "I honestly don't understand you two at all. But I'm not turning any help down." She turned back to the Shaman. "Can you fix the astrolabe?"

The Shaman picked up both astrolabes. The pieces flew into an orbit around her purple turban. Two of the discs with flat spokes glowed faintly along with the bolt and the rule. The glowing pieces floated one by one to the glowing base in her right hand. The reassembled astrolabe's light pulsed. "None of that." She released it, and it bobbed across the table to Betsy.

The Captain passed the chain over her head and she slipped the unlit astrolabe under her closed vest. "Payment?"

The Shaman swept the air with her hand. The non-magical pieces of metal swooped to the shelves and fell into an open jar that closed itself. "You are honorable despite your profession, Betsy-me-girl. I never have to threaten you with hexes."

"Thanks, but if it's all the same, I'd prefer not to have to go on another quest."

"It's part and parcel with your current quest. Keep those three alive." The Shaman pointed to DG and Cain. "And bring your Treasure to see me before her next birthday." The old woman chuckled as Betsy frowned. "Rid your heart of that fear. I lay nothing on the child that her birth hasn't already."

Betsy nodded. "I agree to those terms."

"Now for you, daughter of Gale."

DG blinked at the Shaman. "I didn't ask for anything."

"You never ask for anything now. Told no so many times, you've accepted denial as punishment. The gods not punish you, woman-child. Denial is used to control what is feared."

She felt tears gather. "They're afraid of me?"

The Shaman winced. "Afraid of your true power, lessons in how to use it are denied. Afraid of your unorthodox ways, opportunities to show them are denied. Afraid of what you could do with true loyalty, friendships are denied. All those fears cloaked in love, in guilt, in anger."

DG stared at the floor. "So I was right."

"You made mistakes too. Your craving for acceptance and forgiveness and your fear of losing it all again kept you from fighting when you should have. But now you have a future to protect." DG looked into the Shaman's clouded eyes. "Fighting for that future is your payment. And you will find your center, if you live long enough." The Shaman turned and aimed her voice down the hallway behind her. "Socorro, bring Dani."

A black-skinned girl carried a bird cage and set it on the table in front of DG. The nesting chicken with reddish brown feathers cocked her head to look at DG. "Dani will protect you."

"It's a chicken."

"You're the brightest one in your clutch, aren't you?" Dani's fathers ruffled.

"A sarcastic, talking chicken. How is a chicken supposed to protect me?"

"Consult over." The Shaman stood. "Gods be with you." She tapped her cane as she disappeared down the dark hallway.

"How exactly are you supposed to protect me?" DG peered at the cage. "Are you some kind of fighting chicken?"

Dani's beak snapped a couple of times. "I see why no one thinks you're a princess, rude pullet. You learn to have a proper conversation and then maybe you'll find out." She tucked her head under her wing.

DG looked at Betsy, who shoved her chair back. "I need a drink."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Please be honest, how many of you figured it out before this chapter?

CinephileSandra is still in first place. And I'm so happy the luckywynner86 had no trouble visualizing the action and Queen Isabella reveled herself to be one of the lurkers. :D We talked over pirates and crossovers with _Dragons and Ninjas_, and I was worried that maybe she thought I had taken her idea. I think all readers will be surprised by the end.


	22. Chapter 22

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-two**

DG and Sprite sat at one end of the boat, Cain at the other with Dani, while Betsy wrestled with oars between them-not trusting the landlubbers to handle them on the silent trip back to the ship. DG hugged herself as she stared at the water. Of course she was resigned, her prediction that he would betray her like everyone else had come true. _Couldn't find any other way to tell her not to endanger herself and their baby than to call her a job? How long will it take for her to trust me again?_ Cain didn't want to ponder the answer to that question.

Jenkins helped them onto the deck once the dingy was secured at the rear of the ship. "Conference in my quarters," Betsy told him as her feet hit the wooden boards.

"It went that well, did it." Jenkins took the birdcage from Cain. He scratched his bald head under his cloth cap. "Nope, not going to ask about the chicken."

Betsy only paused to give directions to Bonnet. DG and Sprite trailed after her. Jenkins looked at the group curiously before following. Cain carried Dani into the Captain's quarters. DG paced and stopped, realizing what she was doing. Betsy knelt and dug for something in the cabinet. Sprite sat in a chair, kicking her feet. Cain set Dani's cage down and leaned against a wall.

Jenkins broke the silence. "Betsy, what are you digging for?"

"This." She planted a tall bottle on the table. "Pirates drink rum, right?"

"Pirates, aye, but you don't." Jenkins scratched his head again. "Isn't that the good rum Geoffrey gave us?"

"We were saving it for an important occasion." She poured herself a goblet and took a large swallow. Her brown eyes watered and she coughed.

"What's the occasion?"

"Our funerals." Betsy fell back into a chair with a bitter chuckle.

"What the hell did the Shaman tell you?"

"Who she really is." Betsy pointed to DG. "She's the freaking runaway princess of the Outer Zone!" Jenkins turned his disbelieving expression to Cain. Cain nodded. "After everything we've done, we're going to hang for what we didn't." Betsy swallowed more of the amber liquid.

"It's not that bad," DG insisted. Jenkins sat with a heavy thud into a chair and pulled the bottle across the table. "You guys didn't kidnap us and I'll explain that."

"Do you really think you'll have a chance?" Betsy slammed down her goblet. "O.Z. law doesn't shoot first and ask questions later when the safety of the Royal Family is at stake?"

DG turned to Cain. "Will you tell them they're paranoid for nothing?"

"Not when they have a valid point." He tucked his thumbs in his belt.

"No one in the O.Z. even knows where we are!"

"And how long do you think that'll last if you get into a magical showdown with the Nome King? People saw the light show at the Tower a thousand spans away!" Cain's hands curled into fists.

Jenkins swallowed some rum. "They know?"

"Sprite told me to tell them."

The Viewer child beamed. "Still helping."

"Because it's the right thing to do," DG said.

"You must have been chum on the water in court." Betsy propped her head up in one hand.

DG looked confused. "What?"

"Blood and fish guts you throw in the water to attract sharks. Being nice in court has the same effect." DG's mouth fell open. "Do you think Malachite would have been imprisoned if he didn't have the same problem?"

"That's not a good way to be grateful for the help." DG crossed her arms.

"You're the one who ran away."

Jenkins stared at his drink before turning to Cain. "Why don't you like it?"

"My wife and unborn child facing a legendary evil with a grudge against her family, and she's not a trained fighter."

"I'm not facing him," DG said indignantly. "I'm just leading the ship there."

Cain took a deep breath to not snap again. "You think that's all it will be with our luck?"

"You're impossible." DG turned her back on him.

Jenkins frowned at his empty goblet before looking at Betsy. "The cost is too high, Captain. We must end this now."

"NO!" Betsy and DG both blinked at each other, surprised they had spoken in unison.

"Damnit! Look at this seriously, will you?"

Betsy drained her goblet. "Sing a new song, Jenkins. This one is getting stale."

"Crew mutiny is one thing. But this," he waved a hand at DG, "is a whole different level of suicide."

DG's eyes flashed. "You can all take a walk off the plank! I didn't ask for this and I'm tired of everyone acting like it's my fault! All I wanted to do was get out of my Kansas hometown. I worked my ass off to afford a trip. Then I got thrown into a tornado, and everything I thought was true blew up in my face like an atomic bomb! And EVERYBODY acts like I should be perfectly happy to go sit on a shelf in a goddamn dress and fucking tiara. That's not me! That has never been me!" Her eyes flicked to Cain. "Apparently, the reason I was sent through the storm was to be this world's superhero. Fine, whatever, bring it. And for the record, I'm not scared of this Nome King or whatever beef he's got with my family. Given how I feel about them, he might be my new best friend!" DG stormed to the door, and slammed it shut behind her.

She still remembered what Cain had told her between Milltown and Central City. DG had told them what sketchy details Father Vue had provided, and he had made some comment about there having to be a reason for her trip to the Other Side. He wouldn't have sent Jeb through a travel storm without a damn good reason. She'd seized upon that for a call to destiny?

"What has the House of Gale come to?" Dani pondered from her cage.

"Nobody's talking to you," Cain growled.

"If you didn't want me to be part of the conversation, why didn't you leave me where I wouldn't hear it?" Dani cackled. "It's not like I have a choice in the matter."

"Every time I think I got a grip on stuff around here," Jenkins covered his eyes.

"That was a beautiful rant. All you need to do is teach her how to do that in court." Betsy closed the rum bottle and put it back in the cabinet. "Goodnight, gentlemen."

"Wait a minute, we haven't settled anything!" The chair scraped back as Jenkins stood. Betsy straightened with a face carved from stone. "You're not even giving Cain a chance to state his position."

"He had his chance, and to put it frankly, he blundered into hot water. Actually, volcanic-vent heated water is more accurate."

Cain moved his whole jaw before he got words out. "I've already been overruled." He sighed. "Her identity?"

"Is still a secret. Now everyone just go." Betsy shooed with her hands.

There was no point in staying when Sprite and Jenkins both headed to the door. Cain picked up the birdcage. He could stow Dani in their quarters, and if DG hadn't gone there to sulk, find her next.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Nightdrive23 won the first response trophy for this chapter, Rissy James had free time and caught up, luckywynner86 and CinephileSandra both loved the chapter, and I hope I cleared up Queen Isabella's confusion.

If I didn't make it clear before, I have two _Tin Man_ series. Yes, two and I'm not sure how it happened. Series number one is in my Zackverse and contains "What Memories Can Bring" then the miniseries then _Dragons and Ninjas_ and then the unnamed and not-yet written sequel. Series number two is this one: "What Memories Can Bring" then the miniseries then _Pirates of the Nonestic_ then my crossover with Syfy's _Alice_ "Making Whole" then a short "Wide Open Spaces" and I have no bloody idea if anything will follow that. An original character from "What Memories Can Bring" will show up here in later chapters more like a cameo if you need further incentive to read that story. "Making Whole" and "Wide Open Spaces" will be posted here eventually, but after I'm through posting _Pirates_.

As always, let me know what you think!


	23. Chapter 23

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-three**

Her storming stride took DG all the way to the galley. She thought about going up or down to continue marching off her anger, but decided she didn't want to get in the way on deck or hide in their. The tears finally spilled.

How could Cain believe she was more important than some innocent little girl? How could he not have any faith in her? Why had she let herself hope that he saw her as a person and not as a doll to be guarded?

She scrubbed her face with a dishrag. She'd go back to Betsy's room once the men left and see what kind of alternate sleeping arrangements they could make. In the meantime, she stoked the stove's fire. She had no idea what to cook, but at least it gave her something to concentrate on besides the ruins of her relationship with Cain. Back in Kansas, she had baked when she felt miserable as an excuse to eat the cookie dough. DG peered at the oven. It was something to do. Hopefully, the crew would appreciate sugar cookies.

DG had buried herself into the ingredient hunt, she didn't hear anyone enter the galley until Hodges spoke behind her. "That role reversal didn't last long."

Hodges sneered at her as he leaned against the mast. Her heart thudded harder as she realized he cut off her escape. _Can't show fear. Can't show fear._ She shrugged and moved spice bottles in the cabinet again while keeping Hodges in sight. The cast-iron skillet hung on the hull under the cabinet. "Pregnancy craving, but if you're going to be nasty about it, you won't get any cookies."

Hodges' sneer morphed into a half-leer. "You've been crying. Honeymoon over already?"

"Do us all a favor and take a long walk off a short pier." He snarled and lunged forward. DG swung the skillet with a backhand of perfect form. It hit him in the shoulder.

He shoved her against a hull rib. "You bitch!" He held her arms so she couldn't swing the skillet at his head. "You worthless slave slut! I will take that out of your hide!"

"I'm not a slut!" DG hit his knee with the skillet and slammed her heel down on his foot. "And even if I was, I wouldn't fuck you!"

Hodges released her, but there wasn't enough room to maneuver around him. DG brought the skillet up to swing again. He reached for her, but two large hands wrapped around Hodges' upper arms and jerked him backwards.

Cain's face was beet red as it appeared over Hodges' shoulder. "You have no clue when to quit," Cain growled in a quiet tone that frightened more than his shout. "So I guess you need it beat into you." His blue eyes flicked to DG's. "Hit him."

So she did. The bottom of the skillet hit Hodges upside the head. His eyes rolled back and he slumped.

The blond man maneuvered Hodges' body around the stove and pitched him into the waiting arms of two other crew members. "Mr. Hodges won't be eating with us tonight. Put him to bed, please. And you might want to spread the word how handy my wife is with a skillet." Cain turned back to DG as the men carried Hodges out. "I'm sorry."

She hung the skillet under the cabinet. Of course, he would blame himself for her getting into trouble. "I stormed out. I should've gone to our quarters and locked the door."

Cain shook his head. "That's not what I'm apologizing for." She frowned in confusion at him. He sighed as he hugged her. She couldn't relax against him. "I want you out of danger because I love you. I'm sorry I didn't explain myself."

"I just want to help. Why is that so wrong?"

"It's not wrong." He stroked her hair. "I'm afraid of losing you, my darling girl. I want us to raise our child together."

"So I'm not just a job?"

He cupped her face before kissing her deeply. Damn him for knowing exactly how to make her knees go weak. "I shouldn't have said that." His thumbs stroked her temples and cheeks. "All I can plead is temporary insanity because of you."

"Me?"

"We had a way out that the Captain would not have fought, and then you wrecked it by letting your compassion take over. Putting your safety aside, it was a poor negotiation move. We could've gotten rid of the collars in exchange."

DG blinked as his hands dropped to her shoulders. "You don't negotiate; you're just supposed to do the right thing."

"At some point, we need to go over how your nurture units raised you." Cain shook his head. "'Cause I think they got the principles right but skimped on the practicalities."

She crossed her arms. "Are you implying I don't know how the world works?"

"No, I think you've had too many sources of information plus too many expectations slammed down on you for one person to make sense of." He kissed her forehead. "And I want you to start using that compassion you have for everyone else on yourself. Now out of the way."

DG moved to a corner and left the cooking to Cain while she mulled over what he had said. What compassion did she deserve when she had wrecked everyone's perfect lives they'd had before the witch? She tucked her feet on the seat of the chair made from a barrel and hugged her legs. That hid her face.

Cain wasn't her parents or the nobles in the court. He cared how she felt and what happened to her. When had Cain ever been wrong? And he was at least consistent. _Stop blaming yourself, take care of yourself, I need you, I love you; his message hasn't changed, just grown longer. I really don't deserve him._

But her Tin Man was adamant about their relationship not being a scorecard of who deserved what. She watched Cain stir ingredients into a pot. _You were coming to see me?_ He hadn't expected her to choose him for a relationship. _You could have any man in the Zone. I'm honored you picked me, even if I don't understand why._ He never thought she would pick him. With the way the Queen had sent him packing, he probably believed he didn't deserve her.

DG felt indignation rising inside and hid her non-poker face against her knees again. Her body shook as she tried to choke down her anger. _How dare she! How could she!_ It didn't matter if she was Queen or just good at being a manipulative bitch, Galinda had no right to say who worthier than anyone else! That's what had driven her out of the Palace for good.

And now they told her it was the only way to survive in court. That she had to stop helping people, and become the manipulative bitch to not get stabbed in the back. Even Cain thought so.

_Afraid of what you could do with true loyalty, friendships are denied._ DG looked at Cain again. He loved her. Even if she hadn't loved him back, he would still be loyal to her. He left only because Jeb was threatened. DG was still furious about that. Raw was loyal to her without a doubt, and she felt sure she could count on Glitch and Az. But what was so scary about their motley group? She couldn't quite grasp what the Shaman had hinted at, and now she was tired of trying.

The crew drifted in for the evening meal, and DG roused herself to help Cain serve it. There was no way to discuss anything now, so she ignored her worries. Spencer looked better compared to the last time she had seen him as he tucked his violin under his chin and tested the tuning. "I should warn you, Mrs. Cain." He spoke seriously, but his brown eyes twinkled. "There is a wager that you won't dare sing again."

"Why do they think I won't?"

He shrugged as he set the violin in its case. "Never ask a pirate for a reason unless you want to hear a dozen inventions before noon. Though I think the reason with the most votes is you're too embarrassed by the response the last time you sang."

DG huffed, "I'm sick of people assuming things about me. Unbelievably, undeniably sick of it." She thrust Spencer's meal into his hands and moved to the next smirking crew member. Sick of people thinking she was helpless, too nice, a slut; sick of it didn't cover it.

Cain touched her arm the next time she passed the stove. "What are you planning?"

"What makes you think I'm planning anything?" She blinked and widened her eyes to look innocent.

"Now I'm convinced. What's going on?"

"Just enjoy the show." She escaped his interrogation and slid the last tankards down the table to their drinkers. Most of the crew was in the mess. _What to sing? Something with the sea._ She planted her hands on her hips. "I hear some of you don't think I have the guts to sing again."

The majority of the men looked embarrassed and contrite. Jenkins slapped his thigh with a roar of laughter. "I told you lot you couldn't sneak the wager past her! You got a song in mind, Mrs. Cain?"

She nodded and started singing the ballad.

_Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh  
Another lonely day, with no one here but me, oh  
More loneliness than any man could bear  
Rescue me before I fall into despair, oh_

_I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
Message in a bottle, yeah  
Message in a bottle, yeah _  
Jenkins strummed his guitar matching the tune, surprising DG. She didn't think he was good enough to get the tune from her a cappella singing.  
_A year has passed since I wrote my note  
But I should have known this right from the start  
Only hope can keep me together  
Love can mend your life but  
Love can break your heart_

_I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
Message in a bottle, yeah  
Message in a bottle, yeah_

_Walked out this morning, don't believe what I saw  
Hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore  
Seems I'm not alone at being alone  
Hundred billion castaways, looking for a home_

_I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
I hope that someone gets my  
Message in a bottle, yeah  
Message in a bottle, yeah_

This time the crew clapped, probably because she hadn't slunk off, never to sing again. DG grinned and bowed.

"What does S.O.S mean?" Drake scratched his chin under his graying goatee.

"A code, calling for help," she answered. Hopefully, they wouldn't want any more details.

He nodded, "Makes sense. How 'bout a round of "Drunken Sailor" before you sorry lads have to part with your money?" The majority agreed and Jenkins started a new tune on his guitar. Drake sang the first line of the verse that the crew then repeated twice.

_What do ya do with a drunken sailor?  
What do ya do with a drunken sailor?  
What do ya do with a drunken sailor?  
Early in the morning?_

_Way-hay, up she rises  
Way-hay, up she rises  
Way-hay, up she rises  
Early in the morning_

_Put a little lobster in his breeches  
Put a little lobster in his breeches  
Put a little lobster in his breeches  
Early in the morning_

_Way-hay, up she rises  
Way-hay, up she rises  
Way-hay, up she rises  
Early in the morning_

_Oh good, a song and not a drinking game._ DG started cleaning as they bellowed the bawdy lyrics.

She and Cain had the dishes finished as the last crew members left. "I hope you don't want to go upstairs tonight." Cain banked the coals in the stove.

"I don't feel like any near death experiences tonight, so no. And we we need to talk." She couldn't read the blank expression on Cain's face and wondered if that's how he got criminals to confess. _Stay focused, girl. 'Cause you need to get this stuff straight in your head._

Cain didn't say anything until they reached their room. "What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

DG pulled up a sound barrier shield inside the walls. She wanted to pace, but with no room, she ended up rocking on her feet. "I don't want to turn into my mother."

"And that makes you different from every other person born how?" His half-smirk looked relieved as he sat on the bed.

"Because I've got you and perfect strangers telling me court will eat me alive unless I become a manipulative bitch!" DG stopped herself from clutching her hair.

"That's not what I was telling you. Besides, if you did, what possible need would you have for me in court?"

"I'm serious. We both know that we have to face them someday." Her fingers twitched to take an engine apart. "As tempting as waiting until the baby turns twenty is."

"Somebody will track us down before then. My money is on your sister."

"I can't go back to those suffocating games, Wyatt. And I don't want to raise our child in them either."

Cain sighed. "There's no way to compromise?"

She seethed. "I thought I was compromising. But how can it be compromising when the Queen doesn't give me anything in return? No choice in clothes, no choice in love, no voice in decisions made."

"If you ask me, she's due to fly the coop." Dani peered up through the bars of the birdcage. "She let the fox into the hen-house, and you put her back in charge? No wonder you need help."

DG turned to the cage in front of the barrels. "You haven't even said how you can help."

"And I'm not going to unless the pullet learns some manners." Her orange eye blinked at them. "You haven't introduced yourself or your rooster. Or let me out. I need to stretch my two legs same as you do."

DG flushed, realizing the bird was right, and separated the bars of the cage from the bottom holding Dani's nest. "Sorry. I'm DG, but we told the crew my name is Thea. And this is Wyatt Cain."

The chicken stood and flapped her wings as she stretched. "Pleased to meet you. I am Dani, daughter of Dora and Daniel."

"Are you a shapeshifter?"

"No, I'm a Chicken." Dani turned her head as she looked at DG and Cain. "So it's true, there are no more Animals in the Outer Zone."

"Only in history," Cain answered. "No one's sure what happened in the turmoil of getting Ozma the Great to the throne."

"Well," Dani clucked, "my own family started with a pair of ambassadors to the Land of Ev, then we got scattered throughout the Archipelago during the Upheaval."

"Upheaval?" DG turned between Dani and Cain. "And what do you mean there's no more animals? I've seen them."

He shook his head. "Talking Animals like Dani have been gone for ages. What were they teaching you for a whole annual?"

DG turned away from his concerned expression. "There was the three-month-long tour of all the major population centers with the time loop footage from the Tower to convince the population not to kill Az. When I got back, I was tossed into constant dance lessons, wardrobe fittings, and etiquette classes for a solid month to prepare for my rebirth ball. Then diplomacy lessons 'cause I don't have any, learning about all the treaties the witch broke and what reparations had to be made. Public appearances for almost everything that reopened in Central City. Then learning about the family trees of all the noble families I had to meet and foreign rulers, not my own 'cause of course I know if I had any grandparents, aunts, and uncles." Her voice went scathing. "Pathetic magic lessons with Tutor, who at least had the balls to tell me I was forbidden from learning real magic. Meetings with the nobles who wanted me to hire their daughters as ladies-in-waiting and their sons as honor guards. One count was pissed I wouldn't pick his terrified three-year-old boy! Then when Aedan joined the party, everything geared to what the Aurissauns expected out of a princess. When I asked why he wasn't conforming to what I wanted in a husband, I was told not to mess up the new treaty that would make everything better for the O.Z. Then I found out that wasn't even true." Anger leached out of her, leaving only despair. "She just wanted to throw me away again." She hugged herself. "It was easier to send me away with a prick I detested than face that I wasn't her Angel any longer."

Cain's arms pulled her to his chest while he kissed her temple. "You never got your memories back."

She turned in his arms to face him. "You're the only one who believes me. Everyone else acts like I'm faking to get out of something."

"Then they haven't bothered getting to know you at all."

"It has never bothered you, has it?" She stared into his blue eyes seeking confirmation.

He brushed her hair away from her face. "Other than a few panic attacks you would kill yourself by touching the wrong thing, no. You weren't the only one figuring out where you were and how you fit, my darling girl."

He grunted when she slammed their lips together, attempting to drive away the despair that no one wanted her with the physical proof that this man did. The only man she wanted, now and forever. She clawed at the clothes separating them.

Cain chuckled as he separated them and pulled off his black shirt. "And I thought I'd be in the barn tonight."

DG got her bodice off before pausing undressing. "Okay, barn equals doghouse. I considered finding a new room, but you apologized." She slipped off her capris.

His hands clutched her hips before he hugged her and nuzzled her neck. "I'm glad you changed your mind." His pants were already off, and he pulled away long enough to pull her shirt off. "You did change your mind, right?"

She crawled onto the bed, looking over her shoulder and not minding the way he stared at her ass. "I'm not going anywhere without you." She didn't even finish crawling into the bed before Cain was on the mattress and closing the shutters.

He grabbed her hips, stopping her from lying down. "This way, would it bother you?" His hands kneaded the muscles over her hips, down her thighs, across her ass, sending tremors through her core.

"No," she moaned. "Don't stop touching me, Wyatt, please." One of his hands moved around her leg to rub her clit. She spread her knees further apart as he moved over her. He kissed across her shoulders before blowing on the wet patch of skin. Her breathing hitched as the pressure coiled inside. Cain stopped rubbing to slide inside of her. He leaned over her back as she pressed her ass against his lower stomach. "Harder!"

He nipped her neck. "Hard, DG?" She moaned in response. He cupped her breasts. She rocked against him seeking the release of the building tension. He trailed his hands down her stomach to her hips. "Tell me."

She peered around her shoulder as Cain kept her hips pinned and unable to rock. His darkened eyes met hers with lust and something else swirling in their depths. "Love you," she moaned and the something else shone brighter.

"I love you too." His words were swallowed by the pleasure that took over her brain when he moved deep within her. Her voice keened with the fireworks. This love was a good thing, and she hoped they could show their child it was a good thing.

Cain straightened his back before crying out with his climax. He lay beside her and looked up at her face. He smiled without hiding it in a smirk. "How I love my wife." His hand caressed her face. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

She pressed her head harder against the palm of his hand. "Probably not, but you accept me for me. And it's not programmed or mixed with hating me for how I turned out."

"I'm not defending her." He wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. "But your mother had only been ruling five annuals before the witch took over."

DG blinked as she picked her head up again. "She wasn't even Queen when I let the witch out?" Cain shook his head. "So she's afraid I will start another coup. That's why she kept me isolated." She held herself on her hands. "Is inexperience why she wants me married off to a prick who tried to rape me?"

He seized her arms. "What?" He didn't explode, he froze. He looked like Zero had walked into the room.

"Me and my big mouth."

"Sweetheart? Let it out." His hand caressed her cheek. "Please, you've held it in for too long. Talk to me."

"Boy, can I really spoil a mood or what?" DG let him pull her against his chest again. "I wanted to see the Western Guild Territories, not Aurissau."

"Why won't you tell me what happened?"

"Because he's not worth the bullet you will want to put in him." His hand continued to caress her shoulders and back. She pressed her face against his skin with a whine. "By the Winter Ball at the Northern Palace, Aedan had been around for a month and we were all sick of him."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Rissy James got the first review reward for the last chapter. CinephileSandra, luckywynner86, and griff-chan weren't fast enough. But I hope you all appreciate this smut before DG finally spills her secret to Cain.


	24. Chapter 24

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-four**

The electric lights hidden at the top of each column reflected light onto the polished floor and the glittering array of gowns and tailcoats. But they didn't help DG feel any kinder towards the guests in the Northern Palace. She sighed and put her arms behind her back. That at least kept her from slouching in the blue velvet dress, and if she didn't slouch, she wouldn't be tempted to lean over the balcony railing until she got dizzy.

Raw, dressed in a suede suit cut like his furry one, stepped up beside her. "DG have deep thoughts for a celebration."

"Just wondering what the point is, that's all."

"To celebrate freedom from witch."

DG shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting pretty or cheering up people who had a rotten time of it. But these are the same nobles who came to the Victory Ball, the Hi-DG's-alive-for-real Ball, and the Harvest Ball. The same nobles who all hid in their castles and let the witch destroy the O.Z." She glared down at the preening and dancing crowd. "I think we should expand the guest list, but then again, maybe we should spare the normal people from the display of nearly all the wealth of the Zone on a group ready to take hostage."

Raw patted her arm, covered in a blue-velvet sleeve. "They leave donations to building fund. You can spread that wealth."

"I'm not in charge of that any more." She rapidly blinked to keep the disappointment from ruining her makeup. "It was taking too much time from my other duties." Her eyes narrowed when she saw the carefully-coiffed blond man moving through the first floor crowd on the sidelines. "Damn, I think Ahamo is looking for me."

"Go to fresh air. I get drinks and go back together." DG grinned at her friend before slipping past the curtains and through the glass doors. She needed more time to compose her good little Princess face. Thank God, Raw could feel that.

The outside balcony over the frozen water had been swept clear of snow, but the icicles remained like crystal stalagmites. The expanse of stone was as big as the front porch on the farmhouse back in Kansas. None of the cold air seeped through her velvet gown. She moved to the right, so no one peering through the curtains could see her. The unfamiliar constellations twinkled in the black sky above. She looked down at the ice with a lump in her throat. _Missing Kansas because there's no Orion in the sky; that's pathetic._

The doors opened and shut, but DG didn't turn around to greet Raw. He'd step next to her with a cup of hot cider.

"There you are, Princess." She shivered at the smooth voice, more slurred than the last time she had heard it, but turned.

A stone bench stood between her and the swaying, brown-haired Prince of Aurissau. "Prince Aedan." _Drunker than a frat boy after the State Championship game._ She stepped to the left to move around him and the bench.

Aedan matched her movement with a finger wag. "Princess Dorothy Gale, you have been avoiding me. Despite your mother's instructions."

"My mother's instructions can only go so far. She can't order me to like you." DG crossed her arms.

"And what is so wrong with me?" His arm flung out. "Especially compared to the company you kept your first week back home."

DG's face flushed. "For starters, my friends would never sneer at anyone. Don't dare sneer at them in my presence again."

Aedan sighed. "Why do you make it so hard? I'm trying to put aside the knowledge that you allowed common laborers between your legs, but you are not giving me any reason to forget."

DG's brow furrowed. Who the hell told him of all people about her boyfriends? Not that it was making him go away. "I don't conform to anyone's standards of how a Princess should behave. If it makes your ego feel better, you can blame it on my being raised on the Other Side."

His nostrils flared as his green eyes narrowed. "Everyone on the Other Side is a hypocritical slut?" he shouted as he charged. DG moved to avoid him, but her high heel slipped out from under her foot. She jerked back to not twist her ankle and Aedan grabbed her arm. "You won't even have dinner alone with me, but you let a common police officer between your legs for a whole week! I'll not suffer that, Princess!"

DG curled her right fist and slugged his jaw. "You don't have to suffer anything! Go back to Aurissau!"

His head rocked back but he straightened with a whitening face. "I will not go back without what was promised to me." His grip tightened.

She reared back to hit him, but Aedan grabbed that arm too. "I never promised you anything!" She threw her weight back to free her arms.

He released her and slapped her face. Losing her balance, she fell back. He grabbed again, and the decorative lace trim ripped off her blue velvet bodice. DG landed on the balcony's stone floor, catching herself with her free hand. She wrenched her left arm, but Aedan's hold tightened. He slapped her again, the other cheek this time, knocking her pinned-up hair loose. "I must promise you something? Didn't anyone tell you that makes you a whore?" DG kicked but her leg tangled in the skirts before contacting the Prince. He evaded her punch as he grabbed both her upper arms. Aedan slammed her against the wall next to the glass doors. She wheezed, trying to get air back into her lungs. "The Viewer wouldn't know, the Headcase wouldn't remember, and the Tin Man wouldn't tell. Not with how long he had been without a woman."

DG shook her head. Aedan pressed up against her, hindering her breathing deep enough to tell him that hadn't happened. The grip on her arms tightened. "And you deny **me** the pleasure of your body!" He threw her against the railing. Her arms spun like pinwheels to stop her tumbling.

Aedan grabbed her skirt and its seams tore, but her legs stayed on the right side of the balcony railing as her upper body stopped moving. The ground spun in front of her eyes, moving further away. Her gloved hands wrapped around icicles underneath her to pull up. The ice broke free of the stone instead.

She felt the cold on her legs the same time he caressed her thighs. He pinned her hips to the railing, and pushed the fabric up to her waist. "You want promises, Princess? I promise you will beg for more of this." His hands ripped her panties and the useless remains fell down her leg. "All the whores I've had love what I do."

DG choked. Tears stung her cheeks as Aedan squeezed her ass. Her hands landed on the stone banister. He shoved down her chest and head. She screwed her eyes shut to block the swirling vertigo. There was nothing to grab if she fell again. "Don't do this," finally made it out of her mouth.

Aedan leaned over her, driving her hip bones into the railing. She smelled the alcohol on his breath. "And I promise to do what your mother was too weak to do." His knee pushed between her thighs. "Let's see this Tin Man tempt you from the grave."

Her eyes sprang open as something colder than the air rolled over her. "You won't lay a finger on Wyatt Cain!" Energy blasted out of her, sending Aedan flying into the air. She twisted away from her view of the ground and fell to her knees. Aedan tumbled through the air, heading for the front side of the balcony. _No past the railing_, DG's breath caught in her throat when she saw his trajectory. The Queen's treaty was probably as dead as the Prince would be once he hit the ground.

Raw dropped the mugs as he lunged. He caught the young man's arm and swung him to land on the balcony floor instead. The Viewer's shocked gasp changed to a savage snarl as he yanked his hand back. The young man climbed to his feet. "Never hurt DG!" Raw's ungloved hand curled into a fist and slammed into Aedan's face. The Prince's hands and feet flew out from under him as the punch rocked him back.

DG's panic reached a new crescendo. Now he would add Raw to his list of people to hurt, and what would her mother do if this destroyed the treaty? Raw was the only one left! This wouldn't keep Cain safe! She clawed her way over the stone bench to reach them. Raw turned to her, his angry face shifting to concerned.

Aedan took advantage of Raw's distraction and scrambled away on all fours. Raw whirled again and kicked. His moccasin-covered foot slammed into Aedan's ass. The Prince flew into the Northern Palace through the open glass door. DG's head swum and everything started going black.

Raw's arms hugged her. A warm soothing that made it easier to breathe filled her. "Can't stay here, DG. Go find help." He helped her stand up on the wobbly heels.

She kicked them off. "Need to get flats." _After all this and I'm worried about my wardrobe!_ She giggled and clutched Raw's arm. The remains of her panties had caught on her stocking's garter belt. She stopped giggling and blotted her tears with her gloved hands. "They can't see me. Not now. Not like this."

"Go to rooms first. I take you." Raw steered her into the back hallway away from the ball crowd. She clutched his arm to not run. "DG safe now."

"I'm not worried about me!" She panted to stop shouting. "He said he'd kill Cain."

"Prince no hurt Cain. How could you think that?"

"He's a prince; he could hire someone!" Her breathing accelerated again.

He squeezed her arm. "DG calm down."

She stopped in the middle of the hall and took deep breaths. Raw waited for her. The Viewer was seething, even though he showed none of it in his touch or voice.

"DG, Raw!" Glitch turned the corner behind them. "Everyone is looking for you." He tilted his head, taking in the torn blue gown pooling at her feet and her disheveled hair. "What happened?"

"I was sick and had a disaster in the bathroom," DG said quickly. Raw closed his mouth without saying anything and turned his gaze on her. She focused on the green embroidery on Glitch's white dress coat. It matched Az's green and white dress. "I didn't eat today and then I had drinks at the party. Cover for me, Glitch, please?"

He smiled sympathetically. "We've all been there. I think they still tell horror stories about my first ball. I'll give your excuses. Take care of her, Raw."

"Shall." The Viewer tugged her along the hallway without talking until they stood behind the closed doors of her sitting room. "Should not have lied to Glitch."

She peeled off her gloves. "I can't ruin the treaty."

"No treaty more important than DG. Must tell guards. Prince must be punished."

"No." Guilt spiked through her. "This treaty will make things better in the O.Z. I can't ruin everything again." The O.Z. had suffered enough thanks to her actions. If fixing things meant a drunken asshole needed to paw all over her, she could do that. Hell, it was probably the one duty she actually had experience with.

He helped her unlace the dress without her asking. "Tell Jeb and Glitch. They will fix."

She pressed the dress against her chest as she quivered. "He was drunk, Raw."

"Makes no difference! Prince attacked you."

"I'm not marrying him. That should be punishment enough."

"Not DG's fault. Don't let Prince hurt you."

"He didn't get a chance to hurt me. So nobody needs to know." She slipped into her bathroom to finish undressing with shaky hands.

* * *

"You're the first one I've told," DG continued without looking at Cain. "A week after Raw left, the Queen told me I needed to spend more time with Aedan. I told her it wasn't a good idea if she wanted the treaty to succeed." She swallowed hard. "And she said the treaty wasn't important, but getting me married was and she didn't want me to settle for less than a prince. So I told her to find another one. She told me to stop being difficult."

Cain's arms tightened around her body. "That explains the ball from hell painting." His hand stroked her hair as she burrowed her face into his chest.

"I forgot you saw those." She squeezed her eyes shut, but tears still leaked. "They weren't all bad."

"I never said they were bad. The one of the healed Papay tree would look right nice over a fireplace." He rolled onto his side, moving her with him, and turned her face up to his. "Don't cry, my darling girl. If you hadn't painted, I don't think you would've lasted an annual."

"I was more worried about you."

His fingers stroked her face until she opened her eyes. "Did you think I'd be ashamed of that too?"

"No, I thought you'd get the death penalty for shooting Aedan."

"It's very tempting." His lips twitched. "Nobles haven't changed at all since I left the Sin District."

DG hugged him as his hands rubbed her tense body. "I don't follow."

"When I finished training, I was assigned to patrol the Sin District. Most people had been born and bred there and knew what kind of life they were getting into. But noble bastards used it as a dumping ground for girls they pulled out of the countryside when they were tired of them. " He chuckled, "A few of us on both sides of the law found the girls and got them home or in a better situation before the Sin District ate them alive. I went further and arrested the bastards when I could, regardless of title and rank."

Cain volunteering a story of his past helped her forget her pain. "DeMilo helped you, didn't he?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I figured he was your informant or something. He didn't fight that hard when we took his wagon."

He chuckled again. "Yep. It was an interesting six annuals. But I pissed off the wrong people and my superiors yanked me off patrols. The Mystic Man needed new blood for his protection detail, and he offered the spot to me since I didn't care about the pretensions of other people. That lasted until the end."

She squeezed him. "I like that about you too."

"You need to get it back." His calm blue eyes met her puzzled ones. "You never took gruff from anyone, including me. They threw you in the court and you forgot your sass."

"The Shaman was right. I got scared and stopped fighting."

He pulled her closer. "You fought Aedan."

"Not very well. I ran away."

"You don't have to run away. Not with me at your side." His hands stroked her body. "I'll never throw you away, DG."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I woke up feeling like death warmed over this morning, but I dragged myself to the computer to update regardless. Please review and tell me how much you love that. And how much you loved Raw in kicking mode! Maybe he'll be the next student for Glitch-fu.

Shout outs: Rissy James made it to first, because CinephileSandra was cleaning an attic as a good deed and luckywynner86 got distracted by how stupid Hodges is. New people have put this story on their alerts, so I hope they stop lurking and leave a shiny review.

I hope you love having these questions answered. I'm crawling into bed again until I can convince my stomach food is necessary.


	25. Chapter 25

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-five**

It took a while to fall asleep after DG's confession. Cain couldn't decide who he was angrier with: the Prince or her family. How did she turn out so brave and selfless; influence of her nurture units perhaps? And forget the royal rigmarole, why did they make it impossible for DG to trust them? Ahamo had noticed DG was hurting, but what had he done about it but scare her silly? Raw was right to hold the whole damn palace in contempt.

Morning came too soon.

She woke up with him before dawn. He stifled his yawn. "You can sleep in."

"I don't need to." Even her slide out of the bed was perky. She paused in sorting their clothes. Spencer had finished their trunk while they had gone ashore to Kingsport. A circled star and a triangle formed by parallel lines were carved into the lid. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired. It's been quite the week."

His wan smile didn't shake her serious expression. "You stayed up all night because of what I told you."

"Would you rather I didn't give a damn?" He reached for his pants. "I want you to trust me because I care."

She pulled her bodice laces tight. "Are you going to trust me too?"

"I do, but you still need to learn how to negotiate." Cain pulled his pale blue shirt off his head after she threw it.

Dani squawked before standing up on her nest. "That was productive." She peered at the eggs before resettling.

"We can have eggs for breakfast?" DG headed for the chicken with a mischievous expression.

"Back off, human!" Dani's feathers ruffled. "Now is not the time to give into egg-sucking desires."

"I thought eggs were allowed. Are they fertilized?"

"What kind of questions is that?"

DG glanced at Cain with an expression he remembered as preceding _it's different on the Other Side_ and he stepped in before the chicken took revenge on their sheets. "We wouldn't eat your chicks, Dani."

"Right civilized of you." Dani's tone didn't sound mollified. "What about your bullets? Do you eat them right before battle?"

"We don't eat bullets," DG said.

"By Billina's moltings, don't you humans know what you're heading into? I'm not trusting my feathers to just two no matter what the stories say." Her orange eye blinked at DG. "And if you don't have anything more to do than regret your past and mate, I'd suggest practice your magic."

"Hey! You don't know anything about me!"

Dani's feathers smoothed. "Thank my tail feathers. All I have to do is make sure your empty head stays breathing."

DG dropped to be face to face with chicken. "This empty head has the recipe for fried chicken in it, so lay off the insults."

Cain felt sick. "Sweetheart."

"What? I dropped pieces any time the Hilltop's kitchen was short staffed. I'd rather have chicken pot pie or chicken 'n dumplings but I don't know those recipes."

"You ate chickens on the Other Side?" Cain's stomach rolled.

"They don't talk in Kansas." She climbed back to her feet.

"Your nurture units fed you chicken?"

DG winced. "Wyatt, you're turning green."

A knock hit the door, and she answered it. "Hi, Mr. Jenkins."

"Oh good, you're up." The older man peered over DG's shoulder and frowned at Cain perched on the bed. "Is he seasick?"

Cain waved away the concern. "What do you need?"

"The Captain's ready to try the astrolabe, so we need Mrs. Cain on deck."

DG nodded and grabbed Cain's hand as they followed Jenkins. "I haven't had any for a year, annual. And I wouldn't eat a smart Animal like Dani. I I just wanted to threaten her with something!"

"It's okay, but don't talk about it ever again." The suns hadn't risen yet to warm the winds, and he missed his coat. More of the crew was up with this morning's stars than Cain had remembered seeing on any other morning. Betsy and Sprite waited at the quarterdeck's railing. Bonnet steered again.

Betsy greeted them with a wry smile. "I hope this thing delivers the fireworks they're expecting." Her head jerked toward the crew. "Otherwise, we'll never get them out of bed again." DG shrugged. Betsy turned the black-haired young woman to face the bow. "Here goes everything." She dropped the astrolabe into DG's hands.

A silver bubble expanded out of the metal disc to surround DG and Betsy and almost reached the steering wheel. The voice that sounded like it had rocks for teeth boomed.

"Beware the deceptive Nome King,  
underneath the detached mountain,  
ensnarer of all living things  
blundering into his domain.  
Those he beholds with hard affection,  
join for all time his collection.

Beware the restless Nome King,  
underneath the detached mountain.  
Forswear the fort sailing  
persistently throughout the world's fountain.  
He hides driven by rage and fear.  
Dawn ceases his trek, now steer!"

DG glanced at the Captain. "You could've warned me about creepy rhyme time."

"I didn't know about creepy rhyme time." Betsy pointed to brighter spots in the translucent silver bubble. "I think that's the Dawn Treader. Bonnet, east to port, a quarter turn."

"Aye, Captain." The olive-skinned man turned the wheel and the ship responded. When the constellations above the horizon matched the silver dots, the bubble shrank into the astrolabe with a flash.

Betsy took the astrolabe from DG. The first sun peeked over the horizon behind them. "Stay on this heading until tomorrow morning, Mr. Bonnet."

"At this speed, we'll reach the Teeth by tomorrow." Hodges glared as he hung from the rigging.

"Aye, but we know the routes." Betsy's brown eyes surveyed the crew below her. "Why not state plainly what you fear, Mr. Hodges?"

He bristled at the implied insult. "No one said anything 'bout this voyage dealing with creatures of legend." He let go of the rigging and stood as some of the other sailors muttered. "We should've been told."

"Did we put it to a vote when we attacked Evna?"

"Well, no."

"Did we put it to a vote when we sacked Congee?"

"No, but."

"Did we put it to a vote when we plundered Elbow Island, Shell City, or Mulgravia?" Betsy planted her hands on her hips. "No. Have I ever steered us into a fight we couldn't win? Have you ever not profited from a target I picked? Don't let tales from your mothers' lips cloud your judgment. There was once a Nome King to fear, but nothing lives forever, men. Nothing."

Cain remembered how old the Ancients' writings in the cave were, and figured Betsy was being awfully nave about the nature of all things under the two suns. But it was what the crew needed to hear, so he stayed silent.

The grumblings of the crew didn't stop after the Captain's declaration. Benavides hunkered over his breakfast remains in the galley. "I ain't saying the Captain don't know her business, but what kind of treasure could the Sleeping King have?"

Spencer stood with his bowl in hand. "I was always told that gnomes knew where all jewels in the ground were."

"Aye, I suppose if we're guided by nursery tales, we should ask the ones closest to the nursery." Hodges leered as Spencer's skin darkened. The boy brought his dishes to DG before disappearing down the stairs. The scarred man sneered. "Was it something I said?" The other crew members around the table roared.

"Nursery tales or not," Dampier added as he stood, "I trust the Captain, but I'd feel better knowing exactly what we are after." Most of the crew agreed with that sentiment as they left.

DG gathered the scraps onto a plate with some bread. "I'll go feed Dani."

Cain nodded as he cleaned. The crew would not be happy to learn Betsy was after something as simple as her husband and child. That wasn't something you could spend in the next tavern. Betsy knew the men under her command, and would have a contingency plan. He hoped it wasn't to turn the pirates loose on the gnomes. At some point, he had to corner Betsy on what she expected at Rock Fort so he could plan how best to protect DG.

Dishes dried and put away, Cain headed down into the cold storage to gather the next meal's ingredients. The force of the explosion above threw him off his feet and into the strapped-down crates.

He picked himself up with a groan. Sunlight poured in through the trapdoor hatch. He blinked at it for a few seconds before he realized what was wrong and charged up the ladder. A mostly round hole opened the galley to the blue sky and water. His eyes widened at the splintered edges as the ship vibrated with returning fire.

He turned and saw that the cannonball had mangled the stair's wooden supports. He cursed, plunging into the crew quarters on this deck. DG had gone below and hadn't returned. He met Sprite at the main stairs, and she struggled with four sets of metal balls, pairs connected by a thick chain. Her outstretched arms blocked his descent. He clenched his jaw.

"Mate fine, has magic up. Help me!"

Cain plucked two of the sets off her arms, and amazed at the weight she had carried. "What's happening?"

"_Relentless_ hid with magic. No warning. Trying to board." Sprite huffed as she led the way to the main deck. "Get chain shot to gunners." She dashed to the men working the cannons on the starboard side.

Cain moved to the next pair of cannons. The _Relentless_ loomed over them and men dressed in blue shirts and white pants dropped onto the _You and What Navy?_'s deck from the higher rigging. One landed in front of Cain with a war cry. He caught the metal balls Cain swung and he fell to the floorboards before drawing a weapon.

"A new use for chain shot!" Drake laughed. "You are a man of hidden depths, Cain."

Betsy turned her blood-splattered face to them. "Bring those masts down, Drake!"

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Keep the boarders off the gunners." She pressed a revolver into Cain's hands. A shout of "Slate!" went up near the bow of the _You and What Navy?_. Betsy ran after it with a look of murderous glee.

Another uniformed man rushed toward them with a raised sword. Cain's shot killed him. Drake and two others worked the cannon to shift its blasting angle. The rest of the cannons were positioned the same way. "Fire broadside!" Drake bellowed.

The cannons recoiled as the metal balls and chains exploded out of each with a flash and smoke. Each chain wrapped around a mast on the _Relentless_, chewing through the wood like the teeth of a saw. The pirates cheered as the sails and their supports collapsed.

"Cut the lines!" Jenkins bellowed from the _You and What Navy?_'s wheel. Drake grabbed a small hatchet as he rushed to the rail. The blade split one of the ropes connecting the two ships.

Cain faced the rest of the ship while the gunners cut. One uniformed man threw Sprite off his back and lunged at the Viewer child with a knife. The impact of the bullet knocked him off his feet. Sprite scrambled up and wrapped her arms around Cain's waist. "You okay?" She nodded, but didn't slacken her hold.

The two ships pulled apart. The gunners reloaded their cannons with regular cannonballs and delivered another broadside to the _Relentless_'s hull before the wind pushed them out of range. Then they began hand-to-hand combat with the remaining uniformed men.

Another one dropped from the rigging. Sprite spotted him first and tugged Cain out of the way. Cain shot him before he landed on the deck. "These guys are 'bout as bad as Eastern Guild fighters." However, that one appeared to be the last, so the attention of everyone turned to the duel at the bow of the ship.

Betsy dodged Slate's slashing sword before catching his blade with her own cutlass. She pressed the offensive, driving the dark-haired man around the mast. The other pirates parted to allow them to pass.

Slate lunged forward, intent on stabbing. She twisted her black leather bodice out of reach and slid her sword across his torso. The sweaty man retreated with an oath. She chuckled. "Language, language, Commandant. That's barely a scratch."

Slate panted, "You sea bitch! You'll pay for that."

"You owe me a shirt." Betsy grinned as she circled him. Slate lunged forward, only to move back from her parries. "You're out of practice, Slate."

He growled, pressing his attack. "I will not be beaten by you!"

Betsy pivoted from his slash, moving behind Slate. Her elbow slammed into his back. He stumbled out of his stance, and she grabbed his sword arm. A twist caused Slate to drop the sword with a yell. She kicked him aside before rolling over the deck. Slate recovered his footing and whirled. Betsy pointed both swords at his neck. "Well, Commandant, I'm afraid you're going to have to impose upon our hospitality for the rest of the journey. Seeing how far apart our ships are now."

The crew laughed as Slate whirled to see the _Relentless_ floating behind them without any sails. "Damn you, Bobbins! What about my men?"

"If you were stupid enough to set sail without provisioning, you better pray one of your other Navy ships finds them." She gestured, and Read and Bonny seized Slate's arms. She smirked as she sheathed her sword. "But if that fails them, we'll be sure to send out a rescue party when we return to port."

Slate's furious glare swept over the group surrounding him until he found Cain's face. Cain's eyes narrowed as Slate's unchanging expression stayed aimed at him. Slate turned back to Betsy. "There will be no port in the storm for you, Bobbins. The Royal Army of the O.Z. has invaded Mount Cove."

Betsy rested the blade of Slate's cutlass on her shoulder. "Really? Those slavers bet too much on no one noticing they crossed the desert for merchandise." She tsked. "Stow him down below, men."

Sprite uncurled from around Cain's waist. "Slate scheming. Cain better go see mate." She pulled him toward the main stairs.

"Shouldn't you tell the Captain?"

"Captain knows. What 'asking for it' mean?"

Cain didn't answer until the two sailors and Slate had thrust themselves into a door on the stern side of Spencer's workshop. "Usually means doing something stupid that blows up in their face."

The Viewer child nodded. "Captain says Mount Cove was asking for it. Not our problem."

"If you say so." Cain opened the door to his and DG's room. A golden dome covered Dani, a cowering Spencer, and the defiant DG in front of them. "It's over, sweetheart. We won."

The golden dome vanished as DG buried her face against his neck as she hugged him tight. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, darlin', just fine." He lifted her up as he squeezed her. "Is Spencer okay?"

Sprite petted the boy's black hair. "Will be. Slate will pay for Spencer's island."

Dani ruffled her feathers and spoke as they smoothed again. "Sounds like this Slate fellow's being cooped up."

Spencer lifted his head. "We captured him?"

"The Captain did," Cain answered. "You missed the fancy sword fighting. You up for hammering?" Spencer nodded and stood up. "They put a couple of holes in the galley for starters."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay, faithful readers. I had a late start this morning and have been playing catch up ever since.

CinephileSandra got first place again. :) Though luckywynner86 voiced the question we'd all liked answered. Why aren't there more men like Wyatt Cain available? And Rissy is imagining cruel and hopefully humiliating scenarios involving Aedan. No spoilers from me while you let me know how you liked this battle.


	26. Chapter 26

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-six**

Repair work seemed to settle Spencer's nerves, and DG could drive a nail with two blows. Cain focused his attention on the stairs. Luckily, both cannonballs had missed the stove.

DG passed him a riser board. "How did you not get hit, honey?"

He raised his eyebrow at the term of endearment. "I was in the cold storage. Still knocked me off my feet."

Jenkins' head popped in the hatch above. "We all got knocked off our feet, the smug bastard. How bad?"

Cain finished hammering. "This is the last. Spencer and Sprite are putting pitch on the hull."

The older man inspected the two empty risers left before reaching the deck. "We'll start the service for the five we lost as soon as you're done." He heaved himself away before Cain could ask what you did to a body when you were surrounded by water.

DG passed the next pre-cut board. "I'll tell Spencer and Sprite." Cain grunted an assent before hammering. She was back in time to hand him the last board.

They all emerged to find most of the crew on deck. Betsy and three sailors guided a net filled with the uniformed bodies and wrapped with chains over the rail of the ship while four more held the other end of the rope. Five human-sized cocoons of sail canvas laid out on the deck in a row. Hodges and Jones placed a cannonball in the bottom of each without unwrapping the contents.

The rest crowded around Jenkins, who took notes in a battered book. "I'm telling you," Laffite insisted, "Bellamy wanted his booty sent to his woman in Boboland."

"Bellamy had a woman in every port," Dampier protested.

"But the Boboland woman was the one with his kid."

"Alright, booty goes to children as next of kin," Jenkins declared. "Who else had any?"

They released the net over the side of the ship. Betsy saw their group and joined them. Cain was glad to see she had changed and washed off the blood.

She stopped in front of Spencer. "Are you alright?"

The boy nodded. "We got the repairs done too."

She smiled and hugged Sprite. "How 'bout you, Fuzzy?"

"Sad."

"It's okay to be sad." Betsy looked at DG and Cain.

"We're fine," DG answered before Betsy could ask.

"I think we're ready to begin." Jenkins and Drake stood next to the rail. Four men gathered around the first shrouded body while the rest of the crew made a semi-circle around the deck.

_"Lift him up and carry him along,"_ Drake called out in a sing-song voice.

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away,"_ the crew replied as they started keeping rhythm with foot stomps.

_"Put him down where he belongs."_ The four pallbearers picked up the first corpse.

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_ They reached the railing before Jenkins and Drake, and paused holding the corpse over the rail.

Jenkins's voice stayed in the cadence of the song. "Bart Roberts, dead in battle."

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_ The pallbearers dropped Robert's corpse into the water below. The cannonball sank the canvas-shrouded body out of sight.

Drake picked up the next verse of the song. _"The deck is awash with blood so red."_

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_ The pallbearers reached the next corpse.

_"Pooled up all around the dead."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"The enemy's ship is alive with fire."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"There's no plunder in that funeral pyre."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_

"Edward Teach, dead in battle."

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"Those navy dogs, they had no fear."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"That King's Man O' War, she cost us dear."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_ The pallbearers paused at the railing with the third corpse.

"William Benavides, dead in battle."

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"The captain lays wrapped in his shroud."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"With ten men killed, he did us proud."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_

"Charles King, dead in battle."

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"Send him overboard and let him lay."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"Wrapped up in chains so there he'll stay."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"The ocean floor is filled with bones."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"Pirates who never will see home."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_

"Gustavus Bellamy, dead in battle."

_"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_ The last shrouded body slid under the water.

_ "Let's fill her sails and make her go."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"  
"There's more ships afloat for us to lay low."  
"Fire Maringo, fire him away!"_

Betsy sighed. "I hope you can get a supper together to cheer morale."

Cain glanced at the setting suns ahead of them. "I'll try." DG headed down with him. "You okay?"

"I'm trying not to be morbid, but the last one was after the Battle of the Eclipse and it wasn't much of a funeral. They are both so different from what I grew up with." She bit her bottom lip.

"You're wondering what normal funerals are like?" He gathered ingredients for sandwiches. "Depends. The different guilds have their own practices. The funeral for Tin Men was similar to the Royal Army's. The Royal Family, it depends on who died."

"I've studied that. What about everyone else?"

"Depends on their religious preferences."

She nodded as she sliced the bread. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me for explaining what you don't know." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"I suppose I shouldn't thank you for being you, but I'm thankful you are."

"I'm thankful for you too."

They knocked off the flirting as the crew headed into the mess. They didn't need orders to straighten the furniture. By the time the food was ready, they had cleared all the broken wood from the room.

Hodges reached the stove first. "I'll feed the prisoner. I have no mood for company." Cain fixed two plates without comment. The man deserved some sympathy. He had lost his three lackeys, after all.

Betsy sank into one of the remaining barrel chairs. The rest of the crew silently filled their plates. Jenkins had carried in his guitar, but set it aside as he sat at the table. Sprite hovered around Spencer and set food in front of the boy, who didn't appear to notice it.

DG took a deep breath as the crew picked at their bread and meat selections. "I didn't know them very well, but I'd like to sing for them, if that's alright."

Betsy looked up from her tankard, ignoring the startled crew. "I don't think it would cause any harm."

DG nodded. The crew's faces mixed between affronted and curious. She focused on the far wooden wall.

_Lay down,  
Your sweet and weary head  
The night is falling  
You have come to journey's end  
Sleep now  
And dream of the ones who came before  
They are calling  
From across the distant shore_

_Why do you weep?  
What are these tears upon your face?  
Soon you will see  
All of your fears will pass away  
Safe in my arms  
You're only sleeping_

_What can you see  
On the horizon?  
Why do the white gulls call?  
Across the sea  
A pale moon rises  
The ships have come to carry you home_

_And all will turn  
To silver glass  
A light on the water  
All Souls pass _

This lament connected with the audience in the way DG's other songs hadn't, Cain noticed. The affronted crew members' expressions cracked into tearless sorrow. The curious shifted to sympathetic. She was winning over a crew of reprobates by being herself. And singing a song equating the after-life with sailing.

_Hope fades  
Into the world of night  
Through shadows falling  
Out of memory and time  
Don't say  
We have come now to the end  
White shores are calling  
You and I will meet again  
And you'll be here in my arms  
Just sleeping _

Betsy's voice unexpectedly joined DG's. _What can you see  
On the horizon?  
Why do the white gulls call?  
Across the sea  
A pale moon rises  
The ships have come to carry you home_

_And all will turn  
To silver glass  
A light on the water  
Grey ships pass  
Into the West_

Betsy inhaled before draining her tankard. "King always enjoyed _Whiskey in the Jar_. Let's have a go at that."

Jenkins pushed back from the table to play his guitar. The crew loosened with the tune from the strings before he began to sing.

_As I was going over the far famed Kerry Mountain's  
I met with Captain Farrell and his money he was counting.  
I first produced me pistol, and then produced me rapier.  
Sayin' stand and deliver, for I am your bold deceiver,_

The crew joined in the chorus.  
_Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

Betsy sang the second verse solo. _I counted out his money, and it made a pretty penny.  
I put it in my pocket and I took it home to Jenny.  
She smiled and she swore, that she never would deceive me,  
But the devil take the women, for they never can be easy_

_ Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

Jenkins sang the third verse. _I went into me chamber, for to take a slumber,  
I dreamt of gold and jewels and sure it was no wonder.  
For Jenny took my charges and she filled them up with water,  
And sent for captain Ferrell to be ready for the slaughter._

Cain stowed the food away for the night. He was certain his grandfather had sung this song with slightly different lyrics. He remembered the woman being named Molly.

_Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

DG joined Cain at the stove. "I think your toes are tapping," she smirked.

_It was early in the morning, before I rose to travel,  
The guards were all around me and likewise captain Ferrell.  
I first produced me pistol, for she stole away me rapier,  
I couldn't shoot the water so a prisoner I was taken. _

"I know this song." He smirked when her eyes grew larger. "My grandfather used to sing it while working in his garden. Doesn't mean I'm gonna."

_Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

"Now that sounds like a challenge." She cleared the dishes, now that the crew was cheered enough to eat the contents.

Jenkins started on the next verse. _If anyone can aid me, it's me brother in the army,  
I think that he is stationed in Cork or in Killarney.  
And if he'll come and join me, we'll go roving in Kilkenny,  
And I swear he'll treat me better than me darling sporting Jenny_

_ Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

Betsy started the last verse, but Jenkins sang the second line of it. They continued alternating until the song reached the chorus again. _Now some take delight in the hurlin' and the bowling,  
Others take delight in the carriages a rollin'.  
But I take delight in the juice of the barley,  
And courting ren faire wenches in the morning oh so early_

_ Musha ringm darram adar,_ They clapped three times.  
_ whack for the daddy 'ol _ They clapped twice.  
_Whack for the daddy 'ol,  
there's whiskey in the jar. _ They clapped once.

The crew lingered around the table longer than usual, but no one stopped Cain and DG from leaving once they were done.

Cain pushed DG against the wall after they shut the door. "You did good tonight, darlin' girl. Made those men feel better."

Her blue eyes looked at him through her thick lashes. "I did?"

"Your special gift." His lips hovered over hers until her arms snaked around his neck and pulled them together. He nibbled at her bottom lip, sucking on it as his hands left the wall to stroke her sides. She moaned and arched into his body. Cain growled.

A tentative knock on their door broke them apart. They both looked disbelievingly at the door, and the knock repeated. Cain growled differently under his breath as he released DG.

Spencer tugged a grey blanket tighter around his shoulders in the hallway. His gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cain. I know you and your wife don't want to be bothered with me." His body shook. "I just can't be alone right now!"

Cain winced at the boy's rigid body fighting against the shakes. He glanced at DG's worried face before drawing Spencer into their room. "How long has it been, son?"

His brown eyes darted to the closed door before returning to Cain. "About a cycle. Sprite usually helps me but there's been too much today. I can't ask her."

"Course not," DG said. "And don't you dare think you can't come to us. If anyone on this boat thinks you can get over what you went through in a month, they're idiots."

Cain smothered the smile that the dumbfounded expression on Spencer's face caused. DG's tirades tended to have that effect. He drew Spencer further into the room. "Thea's right. Don't worry 'bout it."

"It's usually not so bad, but when I hear the cannons." He trembled harder and Cain tightened his hold. "I'm back in the well, waiting for a cannonball to hit me." All three of them ended up in the bed; DG tucked under Cain's right arm and Spencer tucked under his left. Spencer continued to spill out details of his story. "The crew knows what I survived. The Captain and Mr. Jenkins can't understand why I'm not happy to be alive." His haunted eyes pleaded for answers, betraying that he didn't know either.

DG's hand tightened into a fist on Cain's chest. "They've never felt responsible for pain others suffered."

"What do you know about what the O.Z. has been going through in the past ten annuals?" Cain asked.

Spencer's expression didn't change. "The Sorceress overthrew the Queen and she just got overthrown. What does that have to do with me?"

"We lived through it," Cain said. "That's how we know what you feel." DG tensed. They couldn't share her feelings without explaining who she really was, but he could share his. "I was a police officer in Central City and spent four annuals guarding the Mystic Man before the Sorceress took control of the Zone. The Mystic Man gathered people he trusted and organized a resistance to the Sorceress' rule. I was one of those he trusted, me and my first wife, Adora. The Sorceress left Central City alone for two annuals before she found out the resistance was headquartered there. But she hadn't counted on the law being on the resistance's side when her army started terrorizing the citizens."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Huge hugs to my faithful reviewers and those who drop in occasionally. I am rushing this out between paying job tasks, so keeping it short and sweet. Please review or I may decide to skip Cain's story in the next chapter.


	27. Chapter 27

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-seven**

Cain buttoned the last brass buttons on his dark blue uniform jacket. It had been seven annuals since he'd last worn it; the Mystic Man didn't stand on ceremony and let his protection detail wear their personal clothing. But it had been decided that if Azkadellia could make a statement, so could the Tin Men. He pulled on his gun belt and bandolier with a sigh.

"I wish it hadn't come to this," Adora said behind him. She was dressed, but sat on the bed with her dark-blonde hair loose.

"A good man and his family will die if we don't do anything." He checked his gun before sliding it into the holster tied down to his leg. Adora would grumble about this until the last possible second.

"And how many more good men will die because someone decided this was better than a prison break?" Cain frowned at her. She knew how much he disagreed with this stand at Central City Square instead of storming the jail. She pressed her lips together, matching his frown, until she sighed. "All the records are destroyed, right?"

"At every station house, Headquarters, and the Academy. If the Longcoats want to find out who served, they'll have to work for it."

Adora handed him a filled canvas bag with a long enough strap to wear across his chest. "I packed some food, a disguise, and a field kit." She moved and snatched her brush off the dresser across the room. "Gods willing, you won't need it." She attacked her hair with the brush.

Her hair was twisted and tied up with a ribbon before Cain turned her to face him. "I love you."

"But?" Adora asked with a smirk.

"But what?"

"You always start something I'm not going to like with 'I love you,' so what am I not going to like more than what's going on right now?"

"If you see a chance, take Jeb and get out of Central City."

"Not again, Wyatt Cain, no!" The whole world was going to hell, but he still knew how his wife would react. "We are staying with you and fighting. The whole point to destroying the records was so they couldn't track down families!"

"But it's not foolproof."

"Nothing ever is!" She folded her arms.

He took a deep breath, "Adora."

"How can we even get out now, Wyatt? Longcoats blockaded the Brick Route." She shook her head. "I'm not promising you something so you feel better if the worst happens!"

"Do you think that would make me feel better? Do you think I like putting my duty to the City and the Tin Men ahead of you and Jeb?"

Adora wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not asking you to choose. I never have. Trust me to take care of Jeb and you worry about your own neck. And the Commissioner's neck," she added before their lips met.

Cain pulled back, stroking her cheeks. "I'm going to see Jeb before I go." Adora let him go without saying anything. He opened the door down the hall from their bedroom. His ten-annual-old son slept in the pre-dawn hours. Cain knelt next to the bed, marveling how long Jeb was under the covers. He brushed away Jeb's brown hair and pressed a feather-light kiss on his skin. Jeb continued sleeping as his father crept out.

Adora met him in the parlor of their apartment. Cain hugged her. "I'll be back for you and Jeb."

"After you've saved your boss and run the Longcoats out of town." She cupped his face before kissing him. "Go, you have to be in place." He didn't look back to see her watching him go.

The Tin Men surrounded Central City Square, hiding in the buildings and alleys surrounding the newly built gallows. Cain frowned in disgust. If the death penalty was necessary before Azkadellia's coup, the convict was taken discreetly to the Deadly Desert. Even headcasing wasn't used that much, though rumor said the Sorceress had revived it as a punishment for treason. Public hanging didn't have anything to do with stopping crime; it was a message to stop resisting.

Thompson crouched next to Cain in the alley, looking straight at the front of the scaffolding. "I thought we spread the word for the public to stay away?" He glared at the crowd beginning to shape between the alley and the gallows stage.

"People don't always listen to good advice." Cain tried to relax his fingers around the butt of his gun.

"Thought you didn't want to see innocent people hurt."

"Too late for that now." Cain pressed his lips together to keep them from twitching. It was too late with the Fourth Division of the Royal Army defected to Azkadellia's side, too late when she named herself Sorceress instead of Queen, and definitely too late by the time the Commissioner reminded her that the Tin Men's charter meant they didn't answer to her and they would arrest all Longcoats breaking the laws in Central City. And breaking into homes to terrorize people into naming resistors was against the law. Her answer was to sign his execution order.

The Sorceress Azkadellia stepped to the railing of the balcony viewing area, constructed on the roof of the building they turned into a jail for the condemned. The morning light gleamed off her brass gardbraces. Guards in black leather trench coats surrounded her. The doors under the balcony opened. The executioner in a black hood led the parade up the scaffolding steps, followed by two Longcoats escorting a man in a police officer's uniform between them. The cloth sack was already placed over his head and his arms were restrained behind his back. Another Longcoat carrying a rifle brought up the rear. Before all their feet touched the stage, the first wave of Tin Men broke through the crowd.

The executioner and the armed Longcoat fell under the barrage of bullets. But the crowd didn't scatter. Cain frowned as the second wave was cut off from the first wave by the non-panicked bystanders. He glanced up at the smirking Sorceress. "Something's wrong."

Thompson spared him a glance. "What?"

The crowd shimmered and the illusion dropped away, revealing more Longcoats in battle formation. "It's a trap! Fall back!" Cain shot two Longcoats aiming into the alley. The rest of them fired into the exposed ranks of the Tin Men. "Fall back!"

The front row of Longcoats aimed like a firing squad. The Tin Men who had climbed the gallows to free the Commissioner all dropped. Cain and Thompson laid cover fire from the alley, allowing six of their men to escape down it. Then they ran.

More Longcoat troops marched down the streets, but they didn't know the back alleys. Cain and Thompson lost their pursuers and threw themselves into the abandoned store they had commandeered as a hiding place. Ten other officers had made it this far; Cain had hoped to see more. They had four other hiding holes in the City though.

"The bitch routed us!" Thompson seethed in the dusty dark. "How the hell did she figure out the plan?"

"Does it matter?" Cain glanced out the peek hole to the main thoroughfare in front of the store. "She's got enough troops to blanket Central City." He turned away to let Thompson see the street for himself. "Is anyone injured?"

Four of the men were, one with a bullet still in his shoulder. Cain handed over the field kit and set two of the healthy men on guard duty. Thompson moved from the spy hole and wiped his face with his hand. "How do we regroup?"

"How can we? No Headquarters, no station houses, no Academy," Cain sighed. "All the Longcoats need to do is ask for names in a building to building search." Thompson glared, but didn't argue. "We're going to have to fade away."

"After everything the Old Man did," Volkov, a rookie from Thompson's station house said, "that don't sit well."

"Don't like it much myself, but I can't protect my family if I'm dead." Cain pulled out the faded black jacket and cap Adora had packed. They were far from his usual style worn while protecting the Mystic Man, and he would blend in with the crowd. If there was ever a crowd available to blend in with.

Thompson turned back to the spy hole. "I don't know how you plan to get back to your precious wife and son." Cain paused in changing his outer layers, but Thompson wasn't sneering. "You should've packed a Longcoat uniform."

"Didn't expect there to be this many." Cain put his badge in one of the pouches on his gun belt before pulling it and the bandolier on over his shirt. The jacket was long enough to hide the holstered weapon. "We'll have to sneak out singularly or in pairs and stick to the back alleys."

Thompson nodded. "Best idea yet to get out of this mess. You go first, Cain. You're the only one with a kid among us."

Cain pulled the soft cap over his blond hair. "It's been a privilege, gentlemen. Good luck." He saluted the other officers before slipping out the alley door. The Longcoats patrolled the main streets. He dodged towards the Sin District. It might take longer, but it had more alleys and Cain knew it better than any other district of Central City.

Reports were broadcasting about how the Sorceress stopped a rebellion led by the Tin Men attempting to free a traitor to the O.Z. He turned up the collar of the jacket as he slouched past the bars and diners blaring the wireless news-heralds. He shifted his face away from patrolling Longcoats, but that was behavior expected in the Sin District.

The residential area east of the Sin District had fewer Longcoat patrols. Soon he would be back with Adora and Jeb, and they would figure out what to do next. Maybe head out to their vacation cabin and farm it, while sending up blue smoke to help the Resistance. Now he was a block away from his apartment building with nary a Longcoat in sight. He kept his pace steady and hoped none of his neighbors were Sorceress sympathizers.

Their apartment building didn't have a doorman, so Cain let himself into the lobby and went up the stairs. He gripped his gun before stepping through the open door to their apartment. The rooms were too quiet for anyone to be home, but he called any way. "Adora? Jeb?" No one answered as he treaded through the parlor and dining room with a rapid heartbeat.

A cocking gun greeted him in the kitchen. "They're not here, Cain." The man with dark blond hair sneered as he aimed at Cain's chest. "But you were expecting them to be." His sneer widened to show his teeth. "You and the little woman disagreed over your traitorous activities?"

Cain remembered this Longcoat from the Academy. He had ended up in a different station house after graduation, and had joined Azkadellia's army a while back if Cain was reading the rank insignia right. "I didn't know you knew where I lived, Zero." Cain dangled his gun by the trigger guard.

"The Sorceress wanted to know everything about the Mystic Man's Tin Men." Zero shrugged as he took Cain's gun. "Too bad you didn't consider that before planning your last stand." Cain didn't respond. Over the six annuals he had worked for the Mystic Man, no one had paid any attention to the protection detail. "Let's go."

Cain didn't argue as he went out the door between the kitchen and dining room. He saw the figure in black against the wall out of the corner of his eye, but didn't change his movements to give another Longcoat an excuse to jump him. Zero followed him with the gun pointed at his back.

A cane slammed down on Zero's arm with a yell from its wielder. Cain threw himself to the side as the gun fired. Pain sliced his calf, but he ignored it as he rolled against Adora's china cabinet. Zero doubled over and the Mystic Man cracked his walking stick over the Longcoat's head. Zero slumped to the floor.

"Cain!" The Mystic Man unwound a white scarf from his neck. "Getting you shot was not part of the plan."

"It's just grazed." Cain tied the scarf around the wound. Then he took his gun back from the unconscious Zero.

"Good, then we can still get your hard head out of Central City." The older man used the dining room table for leverage and pulled Cain to his feet.

Cain kept most of his weight off his charge as the Mystic Man supported him. "Wait, Adora and Jeb."

"Are waiting for you. Now, come on."

Cain wondered if the white-haired man used magic to ease the trip down the stairs. In six annuals, he had never given a straight answer if he was a mage or not. The Mystic Man's sedan was parked on the street behind the apartment building. Cain winced as he shoved over to the passenger side. "Maybe I should drive."

"Nonsense, I remember how to do this." The car squealed down the street, and the Mystic Man chuckled as Cain braced himself so he wouldn't slide across the seat. His chuckles died and clear blue-grey eyes glanced at his bodyguard. "The Commissioner and his family were killed last night."

"And Azkadellia set a trap for us loyal fools."

"Loyalty wasn't the foolish part. It never is. Though I do find fault with keeping your wife and Jeb in the city."

"Adora wouldn't go."

"Of course, if you weren't leaving."

"And I wasn't going 'cause you weren't. Maybe my son should make the travel plans."

"Gods know he couldn't make worse decisions." The Mystic Man shook his head and the car wobbled. "No more arguing about it. Take care of your family, Cain. Fight for them."

Cain blinked. The pain in his leg must be making his eyes water. "They're the only reason I fight, to make the O.Z. safe for them."

The rest of the ride to the lakeside docks was silent. Cain dared not introduce a new subject in fear of the Mystic Man losing control of the car. Chaos surrounded the available boats at the docks as people realized the Longcoats didn't control this exit from Central City. The Mystic Man slowed his speed to avoid hitting pedestrians. The car parked in front of the gangplank of a small cargo steamer. Adora charged up it, looking worried sick, and Cain slipped out of the car before she yelled. "Thank the gods," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You two better go," the Mystic Man said with a sad smile. "The ship can't wait forever."

Cain bent to look through the car door window. "Sir, you can't stay. The Sorceress will come after you!"

"Come with us please," Adora added.

The white-haired man shook his head. "I still have answers left to give."

"You can't do that if you're dead," Cain snapped.

"I doubt it will come to that. But it is all the more reason to come up with a way to give answers from beyond the grave." The Mystic Man smirked, "Isn't that a riddle? I'm sure I'll solve it. Now get on board and I'll see you down the road." Adora pulled Cain from the car. It motored away after a jaunty honk of the horn.

She helped him down the gangplank. "You can't save everyone, Wyatt."

"I know." But knowing didn't ease his gnawing sense of duty. The Sorceress would be gunning for the Mystic Man, even more so if Zero got a good look at him.

She brought Cain to a sitting area below the deck where Jeb fiddled with his toy horse. "When he showed up at our door, I thought you were dead." She glanced annoyed at his leg as he stretched it. "Jeb, get the other field kit."

"I didn't get this at the Square," Cain said defensively to her look. "A Longcoat was waiting at our apartment."

Adora nodded with a sigh. The sound of the engines changed, and the boat moved from the docks. She untied the ruined scarf and rolled up his pants. "Do you think they know about the cabin?"

"Doubt it, we never finished the paperwork to separate it from your father's holdings. No need to rush that, remember?"

"I remember. Though I don't know if we want Jeb that close to the Papay."

"Mo-om." Cain suppressed a smile at how his son stretched the word. "I really don't want to get eaten." Both Cain and Adora let Jeb expanded on that subject to leave no doubt in his parents' minds how he felt about being Papay dinner. Their cabin would be a safe haven, especially if they kept their heads down.

* * *

DG pressed harder against him, and moved her hand from Cain's chest to his shoulder under her cheek. Her squeeze was comforting rather than enticing. He had wondered if it would upset her to hear about Adora. But she knew how the story ended.

Spencer propped his chin in his hands. "What happened?"

Cain took a deep breath. "The Sorceress got the Mystic Man hooked on vapors and turned him into a sideshow freak instead of killing him."

"A magic mist containing a spell of bliss," DG explained. "But he was the star of the show and was proud of it. And he still had the answers when they were needed."

But his inability to save the Mystic Man twice still hurt even after all this time. "He shook the effects long enough to give the clues to defeat the Sorceress, and she killed him." Now for the even harder part of the story. "Zero found us in the cabin about a cycle after we left Central City, and brought eight men with him. They took Adora and Jeb away, and when I didn't tell them what they wanted to know about the Resistance, they made me think they shot them. I-"

DG pressed her lips against Cain's shoulder, right on the scar he got in the Brain Room.

"I don't remember much after that. When I woke up, I was locked in an iron suit, a prison just big enough to stand a man inside and fueled with magic to keep him alive. And all I could see was a projection of the Longcoats destroying my family. Left alone to remember how I failed them, the Mystic Man, Central City, and the entire O.Z. For eight annuals."

Spencer's brown eyes widened. "How did you not go mad?"

Cain barked out a humorless laugh and tightened his grip around DG's waist. "I'm not sure I didn't. Did I frighten you when you let me out?"

DG picked up her head. "After I saw what the Longcoats did to you and what they did to me, I was too pissed off at them to be scared of you. And you didn't seem that crazy, wanting revenge. Who could blame you? I realized you weren't a killer after a couple of days." She smirked, "But if it makes you feel better, you were really intense."

"You didn't let me forget that I'm Tin Man."

"Through and through," she snuggled against Cain again. "But finding Jeb helped you more."

"You found your son?" Spencer asked.

"Zero lied to me and told them I was dead. Adora died while I was in the suit, but Jeb had become a leader in the Resistance." Cain couldn't keep the pride out of his voice. "He led the attack on the Tower during the Eclipse."

Spencer rolled over. "No one lied to me. I helped bury my family." His body shook. "I couldn't have saved them if I had been in the house. The roof it caved in from the cannon blasts. I wish."

DG raised her head again. "Who did you have a fight with?"

Spencer jerked around to look at her. "How did you know?"

"I had a fight with my mom the afternoon before the Longcoats attacked. We never settled it before my parents died."

He hid his face again. "My father didn't think I was taking my future or the traditions of Pingaree seriously. Now he'll never be proud of me. I left, signed up with pirates."

Cain rested his hand on the boy's back. "Why did you?"

"To see who attacked Pingaree punished."

"No father would be ashamed of that."

The boy stopped breathing as he looked up. "How do you know?"

"You are a good kid, so your father had to be a good man. There's no possible way he's not proud of you." Spencer curled back down. "Now let's try to get some sleep. Dawn comes way too early on this boat."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Out of all the chapters, this is my favorite and the second biggest worry I had about the whole story. I only know of one other writer (gatechic) who is covering this part of the _Tin Man_ story, and I'm very nervous as to what you guys think. So lurkers, PLEASE tell me what you think. It's the least you can do since CinephileSandra, luckywynner86, and griff-chan are the reason you get to see this chapter. Quote your favorite line if it is that hard to figure out what to say *rolls eyes.*


	28. Chapter 28

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-eight**

Cain was right about dawn coming too early. The cup of coffee and working the astrolabe wasn't enough to keep DG from yawning as she headed down to help with breakfast. "What do you need me to do?"

"Sit out of the way and eat," he said with a smirk, so she took the porridge and bacon without complaining. It didn't hurt that she was starving for every mealtime. She had never been this hungry in the Palace.

Hodges dropped his wooden bowl onto the table. "Are we still aimed at the Teeth?"

"Aye," Drake answered, "we should get there by midday." He drained the coffee in his tankard. "The astrolabe only shifted the course south by a degree."

"What are the Teeth?" Cain asked.

"A span of ocean filled with rocky shallows and reefs," Drake replied. "It got named the _Teeth_ by how it will chew up your ship if you don't know the channels through it."

"We shouldn't go through it at all." Laffite rubbed the skin under his eye patch strap. A few others grumbled in agreement.

Drake shrugged. "I've sailed with the Captain between them before. But unlike some, I don't mind a little excitement." He headed up the forehatch stairs.

"Suicide isn't excitement," Bonny muttered

Morgan stood next. "My bet is on the Captain. She hasn't steered us wrong yet. You lot should remember that."

Hodges finished his last piece of bacon. "I'd rather be smarter for my gains. Come by my bunk to hear my ideas for a better life." He left first, but it didn't take long for the other crew members to wander away.

DG brought the dirty dishes to the dishpan Cain was filling with hot water. "Are you okay after last night?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You don't like to open up and share."

He kissed her on the lips while her hands were in the water. "And I'm figuring out why they always advise talking." He ran his nose along her cheek before he pulled back. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"By telling me about Adora?" DG's jaw dropped with the guilty flash in his eyes. "Wyatt, I know you have a past. I probably know more about your past than I know about mine, even with your clam-up tendencies. Don't think there's anything you can't tell me."

"Same here, sweetheart. When we get done with all this mess," he gestured to include the ship, "I want to hear all about where you grew up."

"Deal." She hummed as they busied themselves with their tasks. That had gone better than she'd feared. She wasn't jealous of Adora; she would have been thrilled if they had found the woman instead of the gravesite. Cain had never made her feel second-best or second rate. She supposed she was different enough for him not to confuse the two women. Cain deserved whatever made him happy, and if that was remembering Adora while being with her, DG wasn't about to argue. She finished the dishes and took the scraps and bread. "I'm going to feed Dani, and grill her for what she knows."

He looked up from his lunch preparations with a squeamish expression. "That is a figure of speech, right?"

"What? You don't have any slang for interrogations?" She left with a smirk. Dani was gloating over her total of four eggs. "They certainly look good," DG agreed.

The hen tilted her head, eyeing DG before pecking at the plate of food. "You don't fool me, Pullet. You want to know what they're for."

"You compared them to bullets."

"Didn't miss that, did you?" Dani paused to swallow a hunk of bread. "First, why agree to all this when you had no idea what was going on?"

DG sat on their chest. "Wyatt and I were captured and put in the slave market. Betsy bought us and said she'd free us if we helped her. Not helping would have put us back in the slave market."

"And she didn't mention the Nome King when she offered her deal," the hen clucked. "Doesn't explain why you're still here."

"It's the right thing to do." DG frowned because she was sure the chicken had been there when they had discussed this stuff. "And I'm not afraid of a lawn ornament."

"I don't know what that is, but you should get afraid. He tore apart the land to get away from the O.Z. And let's face it, Dorothy or Ozma you're not."

"Do you want to go back to the O.Z. with us? You and my mother can compare notes about how deficient I am." She stared at the floor.

"The difference is, Pullet, I say those things so you can prove me wrong."

DG looked at the chicken again. "How do you know about Dorothy and Ozma?"

"My family, descendants of Billina the Obstinate, were ambassadors to the Land of Ev from the Outer Zone." Dani cocked her head. "Their lives touched more than just you." DG opened her mouth, but Dani flapped her wings. "People are coming."

DG jumped up with glowing hands as the door to their room burst open. "None of that!" Hodges slapped a club of wood in his hands. "Unless you want something worse to happen to the boy."

Jones pushed Spencer into the doorway. His left eye was swelling shut and blood ran out of his split lip. "Leave Mrs. Cain alone!"

Jones jerked Spencer back. "Shut it, Pingareen!"

DG pulled in her magic. "What the hell are you doing?"

Hodges leered, exposing his teeth on his mouth's right side. "Why ruin the surprise? Come on, let's not keep everyone waiting." He moved closer with the club raised, and DG held up her hands in surrender. He pulled her flush against him. "Not so brave without your skillet, are you?"

"I won't let you hurt anyone, but being manhandled isn't part of the deal. Keep your hands to yourself!"

Hodges raised the club again.

"Mr. Hodges." They both turned to a disheveled Slate in the doorway. "There's no need to be violent on a pregnant, cooperating woman." The pirate nodded and shoved DG out the door.

Spencer wasn't going quietly. He kicked, threw his elbows, and slammed his body against Jones, all while shouting to let him have Slate. Slate ignored him. So it was no surprise that Cain tore down the stairs to see what was going on. Hodges wrapped an arm around DG's throat so that the threat to her was the first thing Cain saw when he stopped on the stairs. His blue eyes glittered as his jaw clenched.

"Back up the stairs, slave. All the way up." Cain didn't argue as he turned and headed up the forestairs. Hodges chuckled in her ear. "I should've known you were the key to making him jump." He shoved her up the steps.

They emerged on the sunlight-drenched deck. Bonny and Laffite held hatchets and guarded Cain, Morgan, and Drake. Jones dragged Spencer to that group at the port railing. Slate stood close to the prisoners but where he could still see everyone. Dampier and Read stood by the main mast looking confused, and Bonnet steered the ship. Betsy and Jenkins started down the steps from the quarterdeck to the main deck. DG pulled at Hodges' arm on her neck, but he didn't release her. Cain glared and moved toward them, but Jones stopped him.

"You better let me go before my husband busts the heads of your partners," DG warned.

Hodges ignored her. "Jenkins, do you stand with Bobbins?"

"Oh, you daft idiot." The quartermaster's white moustache quivered as his eyes flashed. "You want to mutiny now? And you let him out." Jenkins gestured at Slate.

"You didn't answer the question, Jenkins."

DG twisted her head to see Hodges. "If you keep shouting in my ear, I'm going to break your foot."

Jenkins stopped in front of them. "You know whose back I've got. You wouldn't know that kind of loyalty if it bit you on the ass." He glared at Hodges. "Let Mrs. Cain go."

Hodges' arm finally relaxed off DG's neck. She jerked away, running to Cain's tense side. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Just creeped out."

Betsy waited in front of the quarterdeck steps. "We're almost upon the Teeth and we need all hands."

Hodges pulled a folded sheet of paper from his vest. "Why go through the Teeth when we got the Princess of the Outer Zone on board?"

DG's mouth dried as Hodges unfolded the wanted poster with all four of the Saviors of the O.Z.'s pictures. _How?_ Cain pushed her behind his back and kept his hand splayed against her side. Lafitte glanced a few times between the poster and Cain. Drake, Morgan, and Spencer stared at her and she winced. Dampier and Read looked astonished.

"You want to change course, Hodges?" Betsy hadn't moved.

"The O.Z. Army is here to get them, let them have them for a price."

DG's ears must not have been working right. "The Army is where?"

"That's the Captain's prerogative." Betsy's brown eyes didn't blink. "I'm not changing course."

Hodges' face reddened. "Then it's time for a new Captain!"

Slate rubbed his black stubble, looking nonchalant as Betsy's gaze flicked to him. "What did Slate promise you?" Slate's eyes narrowed under his thick eyebrows. Her focus went back to Hodges. "My ship? A chance to bugger a Princess? Your own island when he makes his empire?" Hodges' head jerked he could stop it. "You got bought too easily," she sneered.

"I've got the votes. Step down."

Betsy shifted into a fighting stance and smirked. "That's not how the _You and What Navy?_ changes hands."

Hodges swallowed hard as he straightened his shoulders. "I just wanted to give you the least painful way out, Bobbins."

"I appreciate that. Jenkins, get a pair of swords."

Jenkins glared at Hodges until he descended out of sight through the main hatch. Nobody broke the silence. DG pressed against Cain to peer around him. Jenkins returned carrying Betsy's cutlass with its distinctive brass hand guard and a plain one. "Settle this before we wreck the ship." Jenkins said before he stepped closer to their guarded group and crossed his arms.

Betsy sank deeper into her stance, her sword held in front of her face. "Don't keep us waiting."

Hodges grimaced lopsidedly as he circled her. "You'll not trick me into throwing this fight."

"And we all said you couldn't learn new tricks." She lunged forward.

DG clenched Cain's black shirt in her fist as they watched the duelists attack without either getting the better.

Drake clenched his teeth. "Stop being fancy, and just kill the bastard," he seethed.

"You believe Slate is going to keep his word?" Betsy kicked Hodges in the stomach, knocking him across the deck. "He left his best friend to the Nome King. You think he will keep his word to a scummy pirate?"

"Better than facing the Nome King!" Hodges brought down his sword.

She parried the slash, and followed with a blow to his arm. "First blood is mine."

"It's last blood that counts." Their swords locked together. Hodges punched Betsy in the face.

She staggered back with a laugh. "I can't believe you are so scared of a legend, you sided with that bastard." Her sword swipes drove Hodges toward the starboard railing.

He twisted, sending Betsy to the railing. "I just don't want to die!" He tackled her against the railing while her sword was in the air. Betsy screamed in pain, and slammed the hilt of her sword on Hodges' head. He pulled back his sword. DG gasped seeing the red on the blade.

Betsy's hand clutched her side as she fell back over the rail.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Feel free to use the review link to lodge all howls of protests.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note:** 53 visitors, 11 story alerts, 8 favorites, and only **three** people give a damn what happened to Betsy. Congrats, the pirates have just voted that you readers (with the exception of CinephileSandra, luckywynner86, griff-chan, and Rissy James) are meaner than they could ever attempt to be. My muse is huddling in the corner clutching a Tin Man action figure, muttering something about there's no point to figuring out what happens next. All I can think is that the fanfiction I consider the best damn novel I have written to date _**sucks**_.

Please review this chapter and tell me why you don't review.

* * *

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Twenty-nine**

Hodges blinked at his blood-stained blade and then at the empty rail. "I did it. I actually did it!"

Slate let a small smile spread across his face. "Congratulations, Captain Hodges."

Dampier scowled. "You can't decide that. We ain't your Navy."

"You got another nomination, Dampier?" Hodges turned, clutching his sword. "Give it. But keep in mind I have a plan for better booty." He stalked straight to Cain and DG. Cain curled both his fists. "The Army crossed the desert after their precious princess; I'm sure they'll pay dearly for her safe return." No one said anything. "Change course for Mount Cove." DG realized she could hear beyond the blood pounding in her ears.

Bonnet heaved the wheel to the right and the ship turned east.

Hodges grinned hard enough to move the left half of his lips, and stared Cain in the eye. "As for you, forty kisses from the Captain's daughter."

"No!" This time Drake held Spencer back. "You can't whip him!"

"I will see that slave bleed!" Hodges snarled. "Keep quiet or you'll be joining him, Pingareen!"

Lafitte twisted the hatchet in his hands. "He's got a point, Captain." He gulped when he saw Hodges' glare. "His mug is on the poster too. We shouldn't damage what they'll probably pay a pretty penny to have back. More than just a princess alone."

"That depends on whether he was supposed to be planting in the princess's garden," Jones laughed. "If not, we might be doing them a favor."

DG shook and tried to get in front of Cain. He held her back, so she yelled around him. "You will not hurt him!"

"We're not your subjects, your Highness," Hodges sneered. "But everything has a price." He reached to touch her, but Cain stepped them out of reach. "What's his hide worth to you? Every night in the Captain's bunk until we reach Mount Cove?"

DG's jaw dropped. She was so repulsed, she didn't know what to say even if she wasn't too pissed to form words. "Don't you dare agree to that," Cain said in a low, icy tone. He had turned to look at her and keep Hodges in sight. "I'd rather be whipped than see you raped to protect me."

"It's not rape if she agrees," Hodges said.

"And you wouldn't be using threats if it was consensual," Cain growled.

"No deal," DG said before Cain made the pirate madder at him. "You will not hurt him or Spencer or anyone else."

Hodges smirked. "You don't have any servants on the Nonestic, Princess. So you'll have to suffer the consequences of your decisions." He gestured to Jones and Lafitte. "Strap him to the mast."

Something cold settled in DG's stomach when Jones grabbed Cain's arm. "Suffer the consequences is all I ever do!" A blue glow shot from her out flung hands. Jones, Laffite, and Hodges flew back and skidded across the deck. A golden dome settled over their group.

"You little bitch!" Hodges' sword bounced off the golden light.

Energy sparked off her, and she ignored how even Cain backed away from her. "You will not hurt those I care about!"

"You can't keep that up forever! And when it drops, the O.Z. will get a princess back missing a few pieces!"

"Hodges!" Everyone's head swiveled to the quarterdeck. A soaking wet Betsy strode to the steps. A red smear trailed down her untucked white shirt from the slice in the black leather bodice. She brought up her sword in her left hand. "We're not finished."

Hodges raised his cutlass with a growl. "I will send you to hell!" He ran toward the steps.

"Prepare my quarters while you're waiting." Her right hand raised and the antique gun fired. Hodges rocked back, falling on the deck with his head in pieces.

Cain grabbed DG and pressed her against his chest, so all she could see was his black shirt. Jenkins muttered something that sounded like a prayer. DG squeezed Cain's arms, and moved to watch Betsy. The golden dome over them vanished.

The Captain's face was white. She marched down the steps, brandishing both weapons, and her glare swept over the deck. She stopped at Hodges' feet. "I am Captain Blood-rage Bobbins, and I fear nothing on this god-forsaken ocean!" She inhaled deeply to keep screaming. "No man of flesh or living rock will stop me from taking back what is mine, blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh, heart of my heart! Who's the next worthless cur who wants to listen to his sweet, empty promises?" She pointed her sword at Slate, while she turned to see all the crew, even Bonnet at the wheel. "Who's willing to cross my steel to earn Slate's favor and finish the deed he doesn't have the balls to attempt?"

She turned again. "Who wants to bring the fate of Pingaree to their home?" Spencer balled his fists but didn't respond. Betsy marched again, stopping in front of Jones, Lafitte, and Bonny. "You saw what was done, what was blamed on pirates." She stopped in front of Slate, extending her cutlass to touch his chest. "What Thomas Slate blamed on pirates."

"Because you're a scourge on the water." He clasped his hands behind his back.

"There's an evil sailing but it's not pirates. You left a witness who recognized the _Relentless_."

Slate's eyes darted around the audience.

"What?" Dampier stepped closer. "The Island Navy was behind the slaughters?"

"Aye. Slate needed a reason to order more ships for the Island Navy's fleet. So he made his own 'growing pirate problem.' But the Steward's son wasn't satisfied with a military answer. He wanted to find out why pirates started killing off cities and towns." Betsy's eyes never left Slate's face. "Slate couldn't let Malachite Granite ask questions and learn the pirates didn't know what was going on either. So he and Pyrite used Malachite's love of lore to create an expedition to discover if the legend of the Nome King was true."

Slate's thick lips turned down into his black stubble.

Betsy's calm stare was more unnerving than her shouting had been. "Malachite and his heir never returned from that expedition. But you saved your own hide, and left your best friend and a baby behind. And now you've got the last step. The Steward has named you his new heir. All island kingdoms would be under attack from your expanded navy until they submitted to your rule."

"You can't prove any of it!" Slate's nostrils flared.

"I'm not bothering with proving anything, I'm just going to fix it." She looked over the crew again. Many of them stared back at Slate with ugly glints. "Is this the future you want? We hoisted the colors to stay free from the tyranny Slate promises!"

Read shook his head. "I'm with you, Captain. I grew up on Volcano Isle. One of the first places hit with no survivors."

Bonnet turned the ship's wheel. "Returning to the original heading, Captain."

"I'm with you, Captain," Morgan added with an echo from Dampier, Drake, and Spencer.

"That just leaves you three mutineers." Jenkins circled around Jones, Lafitte, and Bonny. They laid their hatchets on the deck.

"Ransom is easier than waging war with the Nome King," Jones said. "And it looked like the only way we'd get Mount Cove back." Laffite and Bonny muttered an agreement. "But Slate won't leave us any free port if he becomes Steward. We're in till the end of this voyage."

"And you've kept the Slayer of the Sorceress enslaved," Laffite added.

Betsy didn't bother hiding her triumphant smile while turning back to Slate.

The Commandant met her gaze levelly. "Take your revenge. Give me pirate justice and right the wrongs between us."

"Your fate isn't for me to decide. Your crimes were against the Steward and you will have to answer to him."

"The old man will be dead within the week. You expect me to judge myself?"

"Awfully positive about that diagnosis; did you poison him too?" Slate's eyes widened, but Betsy ignored him. "Morgan!" She passed the antique pistol to him. "There's one shot left, but aim for something non-vital if he gives you any trouble. Take him down to the damn brig, chain him down, and gag him. The next person he speaks to will be the Steward of Kingsport."

Morgan shoved Slate down the main stairs and Betsy leaned against the mast. Jenkins abandoned glowering at the mutineers. "Damnit, Betsy! You're still bleeding."

"Stop fussing, it's only a flesh wound." Betsy laughed. "I'm gladder we're not in shark-infested waters."

Jenkins didn't look mollified. "Cain." DG didn't need any encouragement to go along with her Tin Man. "Get the Captain to her cabin while I settle thing up here," the quartermaster ordered.

Betsy let DG carry her sword so she could lean on Cain without stabbing him. "Like a little blood loss is gonna stop me," she muttered as Cain maneuvered them down the main stairs.

"It's the continuous bleeding you have to worry about." Cain's tone was so conversational, both women did a double take. "That and gangrene."

"You are strange, Mr. Cain." Betsy shook her head. "And I'm going to have words with the Shaman for neglecting to mention you're famous too."

"How did he get one of those posters?" DG asked as they walked through the cannon room.

"From Slate," Cain answered as he opened the door.

"How did he get one?"

"The Sorceress magicked her notices to the islands. At least, that's what they told me," Betsy said before Sprite collided with her. "Fuzzy, that doesn't promote healing."

Sprite glared. "Captain deserves ouchies. Scared me." Cain helped Betsy sit on the bed while Sprite untied the black bodice.

"Sprite, if you lecture, there won't be anything left for Jenkins to yell about." The lifted bloodstained shirt revealed a jagged three-inch incision across Betsy's side starting at her bottom rib and almost reaching her waist.

"You tore it climbing the rope," Sprite said.

Betsy inhaled as the Viewer child's hands pressed over the wound. "How else was I getting up there? You missed my dramatic entrance and the impressive magic tricks."

DG found the scabbard and sheathed the cutlass. "I warned him."

"That wasn't a critique," Betsy said as she wiped her skin with her ruined shirt.

Sprite glared at the pink scar. "Be easy. Could bust it again."

Betsy nodded before looking at DG. "Why didn't you use the magic earlier?"

"They had Spencer."

"They're good at being bad, which I'm sure Slate counted on." Sprite dropped one of the dull golden towels on Betsy's head. "Thanks, Fuzzy."

DG bit her bottom lip. "The Royal Army of the O.Z. invaded Mount Cove?"

"According to Slate." Betsy's answer was muffled as she dried her hair. "We haven't verified it."

Cain winced. "I forgot to tell you."

"Forgot? How could you forget something like that? I thought you said Ahamo wouldn't let anyone chase after us?"

"That was also before you sent a distress call to your sister."

"So it is my fault again."

Cain frowned at her bitter tone. "What are you so worked up about? Tell them you're fine and send them back to Central City before they cause a diplomatic incident."

"Oh that's all. I can count on one hand all the people I've met who actually do what I ask them." DG stalked to the open window in the stern of the ship and swung it shut. "All _princess_ does is to make me a kidnapping target." She clenched her fists.

"Stop asking." Betsy draped the towel on her shoulders. "People don't really need that many _please_s. Give orders, followed by _thank you_s or magic blasts. How do you think I made Captain? And I don't even have any magic." She took the clean clothes Sprite pulled out of her trunk to the bathroom.

Cain put his hands on DG's shoulders. "They have to listen to you."

She wanted to believe him, but this had been drilled into her by every Palace servant. "They have to obey my mother."

"You think she crossed the Deadly Desert?" His fingers dug into her shoulders to loosen the muscles. "You are the only member of the Royal Family present and that puts you in charge. Now, it's probably better to leave battle planning to the ones who have trained for it, but they have to listen to you."

"Even if my mother's orders are to pack me back to the Palace no matter what I say?" Cain's lips twitched and he didn't answer. "And you know that's what orders she gave out. Hell, it's the orders she gave you!" She tried to pull away, but Cain hugged her closer.

"Then you'll just have to do what she's afraid you'll do: exert your status." She tilted her head up and Cain met her confused expression. "You're one of the Saviors of the O.Z., sweetheart. If how they acted around me was bad enough, the soldiers at my base hardly dared to say your name." He squeezed her. "If we have to use that, we'll use it. Okay?"

"Okay." She hugged him. "But let's have a speedy getaway ready when we deal with them."

"That we can do."

Betsy exited her bathroom with her damp, brown hair braided and wearing a new set of black pants and white shirt with a red bodice. "Are you two better now?"

"Panic attack averted." DG let go of Cain. "What happens now?"

"We sail through the Teeth and go meet the Nome King and get my family back. Don't think that your duties have changed just because you're famous."

"Prefer it actually," Cain said.

Sprite was counting with her fingers. "Down six now, and no port."

"What does that mean?" Cain asked.

"We may need you on the ropes or the cannons." Betsy held up her hand before his frown exploded. "Under certain conditions. Two people can sail the ship, but that also depends on no one shooting at you. The Navy doesn't usually sail west of the Teeth, though."

"We'll do what needs to be done." Cain focused his annoyed face on DG, who shrugged. "You're in no hurry to end up dead either," she added.

"I love how you pick and choose when that applies." But he didn't elaborate on that grumble as they went up to the deck.

The rest of the crew and Jenkins adjusted the sails. Betsy hurried to take the helm from Bonnet. Hodges' body was gone and the deck boards scrubbed clean. DG went to the rail. The span of ocean ahead of the ship was filled with rocks, some almost as tall as the ship. The water churned as the waves broke over and against the stone. Betsy steered the ship to a thin channel of a deeper blue snaking through the froth.

Spencer joined DG at the rail. He handed her the folded poster. "So you're a Princess of the Outer Zone."

"Not because I had anything to say about that, but yeah, Princess Dorothy Gale. Please just call me DG."

"Everybody on this ship has a secret. I'm sorry yours got told."

"I could care less. Secrets have caused me nothing but trouble. I just don't want the _your Highness_ crap to start."

He smiled despite his swollen lip. "The bowing and the compliments only because they want something. You don't have to worry about that from me." DG was about to thank him when he continued. "It's all a ranking game, and I'm the Crown Prince of Pingaree." His left eye winced. "I suppose I'm King; I haven't thought about that." He smirked at her gaping mouth. "Well, it only seemed fair to tell you my secret."


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone who chimed in on how much you love the story. The muse has stopped her depressed freak-out, and is will to talk about ideas again. Now can you do anything for the crazy mess at the paying job, so I will have time and energy to write?

* * *

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty**

Cain stared at the shadowed ceiling above their bed. It was almost time to start the day that he didn't want to face. It wasn't the near mutiny of yesterday that triggered this sense of dread. Like an annual before, when everything conspired to have DG confront the witch inside her sister, now everything conspired to have DG face the Nome King. His common sense screamed at him to get her away. She'd get hurt and their baby would never be. You didn't send the helpless into danger. He-of all people-knew she wasn't as helpless as she looked, but that didn't make him feel any better.

DG turned, as if his thoughts had disturbed her sleep. She looked down at him in the dimmed lantern light. "Is it time to get up?"

"You got a few minutes more."

She hummed and traced a pattern on his bare chest. "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking."

"Doesn't look like you're enjoying it much." She smirked, returning his taunt from what seemed like ages ago. "Do we have time for me to take your mind off of it?"

He cocked his scarred eyebrow at her. "I think we've got time for you to try."

She slid her bare body over his and moved up to capture his lips. Even that simplest of intimate touches made him groan into her mouth. She giggled as she propped up. "How did we survive this long without this?"

"Because it was just surviving, not living." His hands stroked up her thighs to cup her backside. "I prefer the living." Her lips fell to his neck and chest as he squeezed and caressed her body. "Especially with you."

DG threw her head back with a gasp when he rubbed the small of her back. Cain slid his hands over her ribs to capture her breasts. Her brilliant blue eyes blazed. "They are not separating us, Wyatt. I don't care if it starts another civil war, I will not lose you."

"It shouldn't come to that, sweetheart." He ran his thumbs over her tightening nipples.

She moaned and her stubborn expression eased. "Things go better when I'm decisive, so I'm being decisive." She rocked her hips against him, and made him harden more for her. She shimmied away from his hands and down his body, trailing kisses along the line of hair down his abdomen.

"I love you being decisive." He groaned as his muscles spasmed. Her fingers curled around his erection. "Darlin' girl, I want to be in you."

"I don't want to deny you anything." She crawled over his legs and sank onto him. He panted, luxuriating in her slick heat. She arched her back and ran her hands over her breast and stomach. Her hands dipped down on her body and he caught them against her hips, holding her in place. "You don't like the show?" she asked.

"I always enjoy your show." He caressed her hands but didn't let them go. "I love you."

DG bit her bottom lip. "Is that what you were worried about?"

"No, sweetheart. I want to hear you say it."

Her cheeks flamed. "I love you," she whispered.

Cain let go and stroked her clit as she rose and fell. Her breathing hitched into gasps as the flush spread over her body. "I know you love me, DG." His strokes made her moan. "But I want you comfortable saying it too." Her head fell back as she cried out with her orgasm. He shook, holding back while DG recovered.

She draped herself over his chest. "I'm trying, Wyatt."

He pulled her face up for a kiss and rolled them over while their lips were locked. He stared into her deep blue eyes. "I'm here 'til the end of the road, my Princess." He thrust into her.

She moaned but looked conflicted. "Please, don't call-"

Cain interrupted her with another thrust. "My wife." DG moaned again and wrapped her legs around his hips. He marveled at how she accepted that title and nibbled her neck and shoulder. Her hands clawed his shoulders and his thrusts sped up. She fell apart a second time when he bit her shoulder with his own climax. He remembered to soothe it with a lick and kiss before rolling to his back and pulling DG closer to his side.

He opened his eyes when her fingers stroked the stubble along his jaw. "What's bothering you? Me being so messed up?"

"Messed up?"

She focused on the headboard wall. "Normal people say how they feel. You have to force it out of me because I'm terrified it'll disappear if I say it."

He kissed the palm of her hand. "Normal people never went through what you have, sweetheart. But what I was worried about was letting you walk straight into danger again."

Her startled eyes flew back to his. "Oh. I meant it when I said I'm sticking to you like glue."

"And I believe you. I worry, even when I know there's no point to it."

"It's healthy to acknowledge your flaws." She kissed him. "We better get up before they come looking for us."

The rest of the morning went according to routine. DG helped Betsy adjust the course, and then helped him with breakfast. Supper was started and he was using the remains of the sandwich ingredients for lunch, when Spencer jumped down the forestairs. Sprite must have gotten a hold of him, because his facial bruises were gone. "Come up and see!"

Cain let DG climb up first and Spencer pointed ahead once they reached the foredeck. An island with a mountain summit loomed out of the water. Greenery covered the lower rocks, but soon the jagged peaks surrounding the main broke free of that covering. "My gods," Cain said, "it's huge."

Spencer nodded as he leaned against the railing. "Rock Fort in all its glory."

DG shivered and hugged herself.

"Are you cold?" Cain wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I shouldn't be." She pressed against Cain's side still shivering. "Something about that place." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the island ahead.

Spencer frowned. "Is your magic sensing something?"

"I don't know." Her gaze didn't leave the island. "It's not just cold. I don't know what it is."

Cain rubbed her arm under his hand. He wanted to help her identify it, but without magic himself, he didn't know how. "Does it feel like anything you've felt before?" He clenched his jaw. Now she'd think about the cave.

"Not the witch or the cave." She looked up thoughtfully, not fearfully, and he relaxed. "It doesn't feel evil. Magic still weirds me out and that place is flooded with it." She nodded at Rock Fort.

"Let's get your jacket." He steered her down to their room. DG went straight to their chest and dug through the other clothes for her worn jacket from the O.Z.

Dani peered up at them from her nest. "What's going on?"

"We've almost reached Rock Fort," Cain answered, "and DG got cold."

Dani clucked to herself, but loud enough for them to hear. "Only got up to six. I hope that's enough. Billina only had two, but that's just a legend."

"Enough for what?" DG shrugged on her jacket.

The chicken ignored the question as she took flight and landed on Cain's shoulder. He ducked in surprise, but her talons dug in. He pursed his lips and stared at Dani best he could. "What are you doing?"

"Going with you. I want to see it." She smoothed her feathers back into place.

"And you don't ask before taking a ride?"

Dani's orange eye peered into Cain's blue one. "Do you?" She tucked her head back when he didn't answer.

DG's eyes danced, but she managed not to laugh. She held the door open. "Shall we go back up?"

Cain didn't reply to either of them as they returned to the deck. Spencer did a silent double take seeing the chicken on his shoulder. Rock Fort loomed closer. "By Billina's moltings," Dani muttered, "I see why they named it Rock Fort."

Spencer jumped. "The chicken?"

"Talks," DG finished. "Dani, this is Spencer. Spencer, Dani."

"How do you do?"

Spencer muttered something that sounded like a hello. Cain thought it best to put the dark-skinned boy's mind on something else. "How long before we reach it?"

"Within the hour. We'll probably circle the isle first, looking for a dock or a settlement."

Spencer proved right. They circled the island, but the land never met the water in a beach nor was there a welcoming boardwalk. The only entrance into the isle was a gaping maw into the side of one of the cliffs. Water flowed into the cave that was large enough for the tall ship to sail into.

DG furrowed her brow. "I don't think they want visitors."

"Really? I got that from the whole tearing apart the mainland story myself," Dani said.

Betsy heaved the wheel and the _You and What Navy?_ went inside. Cain held his breath, but sunlight filtered into the cave through skylights cut through the stone high above the main mast. Whatever paned them caught the light and broke it into tiny rainbows.

DG gasped as she craned back her head. "I think they used diamonds for their windows."

"It could be quartz," Dani suggested.

"Maybe. It's sure not glass."

Spencer pointed ahead as he shouted to the crew. "A dock on the starboard!" The wall smoothed into a long wharf above the water, complete with cleats to tie the ship to. It ended in a tunnel stretching further into the mountain. You couldn't see into it past the shadowed opening thanks to the skylights' arrangement. The crew scurried to bring the ship alongside the wharf, but without the singing like they had enjoyed at Kingsport.

Dani's beak grazed Cain's ear. "We're going to need my eggs."

"You keep saying that. We might be inclined to believe you with a reason."

Dani clucked, but Betsy called out before the chicken answered. "Mr. Cain, can you see to overnight provisions for six to seven, at least?"

He nodded before turning to DG. "Stay with Spencer." She nodded with a serious expression.

The chicken let him find a canvas pack among the cooking supplies and load it with essentials before beginning again. "Leave room for the eggs."

"Alright." He seized Dani with both hands. Her talons let go of his shoulder as she squawked. He set her on the table and fixed her with his best glare. "What the hell did this Billina do with two damn eggs that you're hoping to recreate?"

She blinked her orange eyes. "Billina saved the entire O.Z. envoy in their second encounter with the Nome King."

"Good for her. How?"

Dani flapped her wings, but Cain didn't budge. She tilted her head. "You humans have a tendency not to save the last resort for last and start with it instead. I'm afraid I don't know if any of you will behave any differently."

Cain tucked his thumbs into the belt. "Fair enough. But when it comes to DG's safety, I don't like leaving things to chance."

She scratched at the table with her talons. "How do you feel about a margin of error? The damn story might not even be true and then where will we be?" Cain frowned and shook his head. Dani clucked again. "I want you to survive this too."

He picked her up and set her back on his shoulder. "Fine, I'll pack your eggs."

"Thank you. I know that wasn't easy for you to decide." She sounded sincere, so he only grunted as he went down to their room. The eggs fit in the small cooking pan, cushioned with one of his new shirts. Dani kept her beak shut.

They found Spencer and DG had moved with the rest of the crew closer to the main mast where Betsy and Jenkins handed out weapons. "This is not a raiding party, men." Her brown eyes fixed the crew with a death glare. Her hat was already set on her head. "Save the bullets and steel for self-defense. Nobody has dealt with gnomes in ages, but they're called living rock. Bullets and steel might not hurt them."

Laffite crossed his arms above the butt of the gun stuck in his belt. "What about grenadoes?"

"The grenadoes are coming with me." Betsy lifted a smaller wooden box out of the weapons trunk. "Morgan, Drake, Spencer, I'd have you with me but it's your choice."

Spencer's jaw dropped and the older men looked slightly less stunned. Spencer shook his pulled-back mass of black hair. "I'm not passing this up!"

Drake and Morgan both grinned and agreed. Betsy opened the wooden box, and passed out the belts with fist-sized globes attached to the leather. She glanced at Cain, and passed one of the belts to him, keeping one. "Are you sure bringing the chicken is a good idea?"

"She insisted," Cain said.

"It's a volunteer mission and I'm volunteering." Dani leaped from Cain's shoulder to DG's, and stayed latched on despite DG's surprised jump and shake to dislodge her. "But I need a disguise."

"And I look like I have a chicken costume shop in my pocket?" DG pulled her hair away from the feathers. "I wasn't taught to conjure items."

"Glamour me. But no turning invisible. I want you to see me when I'm talking to you."

"I wasn't taught how to do that either!"

Dani shook her head. "You are stuck in a need for schooling. Luckily, I learned a few tricks in the Shaman's chicken coop. Step away from the others." DG did, but not too far from Cain's reach.

Betsy ignored the Chicken's antics and turned to Jenkins. "Give us two nights. If you haven't heard any different, sail out of here."

Jenkins wiped his moustache. "I shouldn't have to tell you I don't like this part of the plan."

"Someone has to make sure a new hole isn't blown in one of the walls. Too bad it falls on you." A smile broke across her face. "We'll be back tomorrow. But just in case."

"Don't say that," he interrupted, "you'll put a jinx on the whole damn thing."

Cain swore he saw tears in Betsy's eyes. "It's been an honor to sail with you, you curmudgeonly bastard."

His blue eyes blinked rapidly. "The honor's been all mine, you ill-tempered bitch. Take what you can."

"Give nothing back." The pair tapped fists together and Betsy saw DG and a skinny bird with a huge curved beak sitting on her shoulder. Bright red feathers covered the head and breast, running down to midway on the back where a line of yellow feathers separated it from the bright blue feathers that ended the wings and started the base of the red tail feathers that almost reached past DG's backside. Betsy giggled and pointed at the strange bird. "Ready the sails is code for yes!" She laughed harder at the dumbfounded expressions on everyone before heading to the gangplank.

"What the hell was that about?" The strange bird demanded in Dani's voice. "What did you make me look like?"

"A scarlet macaw," DG answered with her puzzled eyes focused on Betsy's back. Dani poked her neck with a toe. "Ow! It's a parrot, a very pirate bird, okay?"

Sprite carried two bulky portable lamps and joined the group at the gangplank. She gave one to Spencer and one to DG before falling in. Concern replaced Betsy's mirth. "I'd rather you stay on board with Jenkins."

The Viewer girl shook her head. "Not leaving Captain." Her white shirt bunched up under her crossed arms. "Can't make me stay."

"You know the drill." Betsy ruffled the shaggy golden hair and Sprite beamed. She looked at the rest of the group. "Let's go explore."

The stone the wharf was carved from was rough under foot but smoothed heading into the tunnel. The tunnel extended into the heart of the island and was lit with long cylinders of the clear gemstone. The smooth, light-tan rock walls reflected enough light so they didn't need to turn on the portable lamps.

Cain found himself in the center of the group. Drake and Morgan brought up the rear, his usual guard position. Betsy led with Spencer on her point. DG moved to Cain's side. "They don't seem to have much fortification," she said in a low voice so to not echo.

His lips twitched. "How much is needed when the island moves every night?"

"Well, true." DG looked flummoxed. "I guess I expected someone called the Nome King to have a more castle-like residence." The tunnel made a right turn ahead.

"That's assigning him human decorating tastes," Dani said.

"Also true," DG conceded.

The group rounded the corner. Thirty four-foot-high humanoids stood in formation blocking the path. Glittering steel armor inlaid with jewels covered their squat bodies. Instead of helmets or hats, they wore bands holding small portable lamps centered on their foreheads, thankfully all turned off. Each of them had a sword strapped around their waist and carried a spear or a battle axe. The leftmost gnome raised his arm, and the troop leveled their spears at the humans.


	31. Chapter 31

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-one**

Cain stepped in front of DG when the spears were leveled at them. Morgan and Drake moved closer. Spencer changed his grip on his portable lamp to swing. Betsy swept her foot back and her hat off as she dropped into a deep bow.

"Greetings and salutations." She straightened. "I am Captain Betsy Bobbins of the _You and What Navy?_. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

Cain blinked. She sounded as polished as a courtier.

The gnome who had raised his arm stepped forward. The jewels on his suit of armor had a deep red-brown color. "I am General Kaliko. Are you Topsiders?" There was awe in his gravelly voice. "Do you live under the light of the double suns?"

Betsy glanced at her group before answering. "Aye, I guess that makes us Topsiders."

Kaliko nodded. "If you value your lives, you must return to your ship and leave."

"But we just got here."

"You cannot stay." Kaliko signaled his troop and they pulled up their spears against their shoulders. "We value the peace between the Topsiders and the Gnomes. Leave before it is broken."

Betsy's back stiffened. "We cannot leave without seeing your King."

Their military precision broke. Heads turned as the troop muttered in grating voices.

"Don't they know what the King does to Topsiders?"

"How many annuals has it been?"

"All that light drives them mad."

"Remember how soil that had touched the sky tasted?"

"Do they want to start another war?"

"Maybe the King was right to take us away."

"We're a part of the world too. Why can't we interact with Topsiders?"

"I wonder what has changed."

Kaliko silenced the chatter from his troop with another gesture. "You are better off not meeting the King, Captain. Roquat does not like to be disturbed, especially by Topsiders."

"I'm afraid my business concerns him. I don't want to break the peace," Betsy spread her hands, "but I can't promise that what happens in the Topsiders' countries won't affect your realm."

"We have survived separate this long," Kaliko answered. "I will not risk the King's wrath."

"Maybe he doesn't have to know?" DG licked her lips before continuing. "You guys want news, the Captain wants to finish her quest. So we handle business without King Roquat?"

"Are you accustomed to such misdirection, Topsider?"

She smiled. "Sometimes it's the only way to get anything done."

"It's not breaking the rules, just bending them a little," Betsy added. "A military leader can appreciate knowing what's happening outside his mountain. Knowing is half the battle."

Kaliko's grey features frowned. "I have no wish to battle with Topsiders."

"And we have no wish to battle with gnomes. So why don't we sit for a neighborly chat instead?"

The General looked at Betsy's smile with narrowed eyes. "Yes, I am sure all you want is a chat." He turned to his troop. "These Topsiders are honored guests. Make the way to the Hall."

Betsy whirled and glowered. "Best behavior out of everyone. Don't embarrass me." They all nodded except Sprite, who saluted.

The gnome troop marched to the tunnel wall. Their bodies-armor and all-melded with the stone, leaving a new opening. Kaliko led the humans into the new tunnel that corkscrewed around a man-thick crystal shard conducting light underground. The stone closed behind Morgan and Drake. Cain frowned as he examined at the wall beside them. Faces skittered over the surface. He reared back and DG caught his arm. "Don't see that everyday, do you?" Her eyes danced again.

"Wasn't expecting that. Or for you to get a kick out of it."

"Usually you're reassuring me that the weird thing is perfectly normal. So yeah, I'm enjoying this." She squeezed his hand. "I won't tell anyone."

"Much obliged."

The wall ahead opened into an immense cavern, larger than the Grand Hall of the Northern Palace. Gemstone windowpanes dotted the curved wall on the far right and crystal stalagmites hanging from the ceiling maybe half-a-span above brought light beams to all corners of the cavern. The gnome troop reformed around them as the wall returned to a solid state.

Long tables and benches grew out of the floor in the center of the cavern. Kaliko led them to the table on a raised platform of stone in front of the other two. "You have a tradition of eating with diplomacy, yes?"

"Breaking bread is what we say." Betsy watched the gnomes pull free from the stone walls. These were smaller, fatter, or thinner than the shape of a soldier gnome. They set out dishes recreating a rainbow on the tables, and Cain raised his scarred eyebrow at the wealth. The dishes weren't made of colored glass and the utensils looked like an alloy of gold and silver. Betsy shook her head. "Do you even eat the same food that we do?"

All gnomes stopped and stared wide-eyed at the high table. Cain had seen criminals look less guilty over worse. He unslung the pack off his back. "Don't worry, we have food." He unpacked the items that didn't need cooking, careful to keep the eggs hidden. The gnomes whisked the stuff away as soon as he put it on the table.

Kaliko gestured at the high table and bench. "Please be seated."

DG hesitated. "We won't be sitting on anyone, will we?"

"No," Kaliko's stony face broke into a smile. "They are permanent to the Hall."

The gnomes chattered in a singsong language Cain didn't recognize as they sat at the other tables or served others. DG sat next to Cain. "It's like 'Be Our Guest' only with rocks," she muttered. He looked at her puzzled. "I'll explain later."

He nodded and glanced down the table. Kaliko sat between DG and Betsy, who stared at DG.

Betsy noticed Cain's observation and turned back to Kaliko. "It's kind of you to go to this much trouble."

"It is no trouble. We would have done the same for the Topsiders an annual ago had they behaved in a civilized fashion." Kaliko's goblet was filled with a molten silver substance, which he sipped before continuing. "You are following them."

Cain passed the water canteen to one of the serving gnomes. "This is what Topsiders drink." He only saw the top of the bobbing head above the table, but they wouldn't have to wash down bread and meat with metal.

Betsy admired the fork of her place setting. "We are. How much Topsider politics do you know?" She set the fork back on the table to focus on Kaliko.

"I have not met with Topsiders since King Roquat separated our dominions from the mainland, so I'm afraid it is outdated."

The Captain nodded, making the trinkets on her hat jiggle. "The Great Upheaval scattered islands between Rock Fort and the mainland. Topsiders moved with them, and created alliances with the Steward of the Nome King."

Kaliko's brow lifted. "I had forgotten about that position. Other Topsider kingdoms never approached him as they were supposed to do."

Cain's history lessons didn't include that. "The Nome King had human subjects?"

"The Land of Ev always disputed who was truly in charge of them." Kaliko laughed, which sounded like two rocks grinding together. "I suppose when the King dragged us all out to sea settled that."

"I doubt that was his intention," Cain replied.

"It was not." The General turned to Betsy with a somber expression. "King Roquat will not care that he still has Topsider subjects if you want him to intervene in affairs upside."

"The current Steward's only son led the Topsiders here last annual." Betsy inhaled. "He never returned. We must rescue him to prevent a warmonger from gaining the Steward's position and claiming all islands as his."

"And you believe he would dare conquer our mountain? No, fear of the King keeps all away."

Betsy toyed with the bread on her ruby plate. "He has no fear of the King to make him to quake. He left the Steward's son and granddaughter here while he escaped to complete his plans. He'll surround Rock Fort with ships and send a barrage of cannonballs into it."

Kaliko frowned. "So they deliberately antagonized King Roquat."

The other gnomes mirrored Kaliko's grave distress with their chatter, though one young voice rose above the rest. "But I don't want to move the mountain for cycles again!"

The General gulped the contents of his goblet. "The King will never release the Steward's son and grandchild. Their group entered with explosives and blew a path into the collection room. Many in the collection died, so the King ensorcelled the invaders, adding them to it. Only two Topsiders escaped of the ones who entered."

DG chewed on her bottom lip before asking, "How does he collect people?"

"Roquat turns them into ornaments that represent who they were." Kaliko shrugged at her dismayed expression. "Yes, it's horrific but they do not suffer as they would if they were merely imprisoned. However, that is why your quest must end here. The King wants replacements."

"But not badly enough to come out of hiding," Betsy observed.

"I think that's a good thing," Cain said.

Betsy clenched her fist. "People have been rescued from the Nome King's collection before. There are stories. So what did they do?"

Kaliko shook his head. "Captain, there must be a better way to expend your life than taking a chance in Roquat's game."

"Game?"

"When the King was more receptive to Topsiders, he would give them so many chances to guess the identity of the ornament. If all the guesses were wrong, the Topsider would join the collection."

"Bad odds," Sprite said as she peered around Betsy.

Cain agreed with the Viewer child. "How many have won this game?"

The gnomes all stopped moving and gazed at the high table. "Only two have beaten Roquat ever," Kaliko said in an awed voice. "The girl with the silver shoes."

"Silver shoes," every gnome echoed. DG tensed beside Cain, and he wrapped his arm around her back.

"And the chicken." Kaliko shuddered. The other gnomes moaned, filling the entire cavern. DG shrank closer to Cain.

"Glad I look different," Dani whispered between their heads. "But it was said that colors are key for the game."

Kaliko steepled his fingers together. "Sail away from this, Captain. There is no hope for what you wish for."

"General Kaliko, you can't get rid of me that easily. Maybe you don't remember how stubborn Topsiders can be, but I'm more stubborn than most."

The rocks on the wall behind their backs made a grinding sound. All the gnomes except for Kaliko's soldiers melted through the floor. Cain pivoted along with the rest of the crew and saw the stone shifting into a giant, craggy face. Flames danced inside the pupils of the eyes. "What is the meaning of this!" Its voice boomed into the Hall, sending vibrations through the stone and crystal.

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**Author's Note:** Sorry guys, I have no time to leave a pithy plea for reviews since I have to run to work and probably have to work late again tonight. Please make my day better with a review.


	32. Chapter 32

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-two**

The huge stone face gritted his boulder-like teeth. DG glanced at Cain, who had tensed his muscles, ready to spring. On her other side, Kaliko looked resigned. Betsy sprang up from the bench and bowed deeply, flaunting her leg to the giant face. "King Roquat, I presume? An honor to meet you. Captain Betsy Bobbins of the _You and What Navy?_, at your service."

"Honor, bah; a funeral is more accurate," Kaliko muttered.

Betsy gave no sign that she heard him behind her. "Your General was gracious enough to entertain us while we waited for an audience with your Majesty."

Curiosity replaced some of the anger on Roquat's face. "A Topsider wants an audience with me?" His eyes narrowed. "For what purpose?"

"Obviously, I want a boon only the Nome King can grant." She plopped her hat back on her brown wavy hair. "So do we conduct the audience here or do you have a throne room for that sort of thing?"

The thick stone lips sneered. "And what realm do you rule to consider yourself worthy of an audience with Roquat?"

Betsy's hand fluttered to her chest, a move at odds with the sword and grenadoes strapped around her waist. "Rule? Me?" DG wondered if Betsy batted her eyelashes along with her tone. "I'm just a humble ship's captain. My tailor calls me Queen of the Sea, but I attribute that to his flair for dramatic advertising."

"And you presume to disturb me, Roquat the Ruby , the ruler of everything underground. I have made rulers of Topsider empires tremble in fear, and you think you are worthy to ask for a boon?" His chuckle held menace rather than mirth and DG bit her lip again.

"Where I come from, there is no harm in asking. You may not like the answer you get, but asking is polite." Betsy smiled, "Don't you want to know what only the Nome King can do for a Topsider ship's captain, your Majesty?"

The flames in Roquat's pupils died. "A Topsider who is not afraid of the power I wield? What manner of human are you?"

"I'm no different than any other, except for possessing a stubborn streak and lacking qualms against violence." Betsy tucked her thumbs into her belt like Cain would. "But why start off so hostile and uncivilized?"

"Because Topsiders don't know any other way of behaving!" Roquat's voice shook the room again, but Betsy didn't flinch. "I must suffer your entreaties because you want to prove you are different? Better? More foolish?" His teeth crashed together. "Arrogant female!" His expression suddenly went wary, and flames flared in his pupils. "Where are you from, Captain Betsy Bobbins?"

"Didn't realize there was an interview process." Betsy tilted her head. "The closest city to a home port the _You and What Navy?_ has is Mount Cove, the part of your dominion you left attached to the mainland."

"You were born on a ship?"

"Depends on your point of view. It's the only home I can count on."

"You have never crossed the Deadly Desert?" Something about Roquat's sly expression reminded DG of someone else.

Betsy threw back her head and laughed. "What the hell can I do in a landlocked country like the Outer Zone? My ship can't cross sand." She wiped under her eyes. "No tricks, Your Majesty. It's an honest boon."

Roquat studied Betsy. "Bring them to the throne room, Kaliko." His face retreated. The eyes closed, the nose disappeared, but his mouth opened wider until it became a doorway through the stone.

Kaliko heaved his body off the bench. "Well, you received what you wanted, Captain. It was a pleasure meeting you Topsiders."

"Have a little faith, General."

"I have seen this scenario far too many times."

The humans followed Kaliko and his troop followed them into another cavern as large as the Hall. The left wall held the windows. In the center was a craggy throne carved from a solid grey-brown boulder. Its surface glittered with the rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. The gnome sitting on it had shrank to Cain's height, but fatter. His skin and robe matched the color of the throne's stone, as well as the solid beard and hair carved to look bushy. The only thing on him not grey-brown was a gold belt covered with gemstones wrapped around his waist.

A knot formed in DG's stomach. The Nome King reminded her of the Royal Alchemist. She didn't trust him and she doubted they should trust Roquat. Hell, his own general didn't trust the Nome King. She reached for Cain's hand. He squeezed hers.

Roquat pulled a stone pipe from the throne's armrest. He started it smoking before focusing on Betsy. "Does this throne room suit your discussion of boons, Captain Betsy Bobbins?"

She smirked as she turned and looked at the cavern. "I admire your use of natural resources. Curious about what you do after the suns set, but that's not important." She faced Roquat again. "My boon: there are two in your collection captured from a Topsider expedition last annual I would like freed." Roquat's expression froze. "I have found evidence and believe they were left to be blamed and punished for the invasion."

"That does not make sense, Topsider." He inhaled through the pipe. "You imply that I acted because I was furious over the attack. Topsiders always attack, and the latest attackers were swiftly dealt justice."

"Not the one who actually planned it. He brought your Steward's only son and granddaughter here. He gave the orders to blow up parts of your mountain. He escaped to continue building up the Navy, to oppress the Topsiders of the islands, and to impress the Steward as the only candidate to take the position. Only he will not be Steward, he will declare himself a king and start conquering."

Roquat puffed out smoke. "Conjecture."

"Not!" Sprite stomped forward, and would have continued to the throne, but Betsy pulled her back. "I felt Slate. All true!"

"What is that?" He pointed to Sprite.

"Sprite is a type of Topsider called a Viewer. They can read people's hearts, so you can't lie to them." Betsy pushed Sprite behind her. "For the Steward's son and granddaughter, I will give you Thomas Slate for your justice, your Majesty."

He puffed on his pipe for a few minutes. "Topsiders do not act so altruistically. What do you get, Captain Betsy Bobbins? "

"I'm not altruistic. Keeping Slate out of power maintains my way of life." Betsy crossed her arms.

"No, no," he chuckled. "There are ways to remove the threat he represents without involving my collection." He pinned Betsy with a glare, while his lips within the carved beard smiled. "You have proof that you are correct, so why come here at all?"

"The Topsiders must have a Steward."

"They will find a new champion. They always do."

DG curled her free hand into a fist. The Nome King was forcing Betsy to admit the personal stake she had. If there was one lesson DG learned at court, it was to never show the personal stake. She had shown how she needed Cain and Glitch, and they had been jerked away from her. And her mother was benevolent, while no one had the illusion that Roquat was too.

Betsy matched Roquat's glare. "The ones I seek are my husband and child. And if Slate in exchange isn't enough compensation, I'm willing to play your game."

Roquat's eyes crinkled with glee. "The heart bonds of a Topsider female, there is supposedly no other force on the world to match it." He puffed on his pipe and continued to stare at the tense woman. "You want to release two, three guesses are fair. Choose the ornament you think is one of them and say the land where they are from. If all three guesses are wrong, the one playing joins my collection. Are those terms agreeable, Captain Betsy Bobbins?"

"I can agree to that." Betsy pressed her lips together.

"Splendid. Who goes first?" Roquat rubbed his hands together.

Betsy shook her head. "No, this is between you and me. My men are free to leave."

"All play or none. It is your choice, Captain."

"That's not fair," Sprite said.

"Quiet, he might try to sell us something." Betsy turned herself and Sprite to face their group, keeping her hands on the Viewer child's shoulders. "Thoughts?"

Drake's greying goatee bristled. "You said you left your daughter on the Archipelago."

"Geographically speaking, Rock Fort is part of the Archipelago," Betsy shrugged. "You lot aren't exactly family men, Drake. And I didn't have time to get a new crew together."

"But you are going to compensate us for our troubles?" Morgan frowned.

"Have you ever not gotten paid? Orkland does not count."

"Well," Morgan drawled, "as long as we're heftily rewarded for rescuing, I'll take a go at guessing."

"What the hell, I've had a long life," Drake said. "'Course, I'm expecting you to get it right and spare us our turn."

"Fair enough," Betsy said. "Thank you."

Sprite tilted her head back. "I play too. Mean rock king should let Captain's family go."

"Sprite, you do understand what will happen if you get it wrong?" Betsy winced. "I promised to keep you safe."

"And I not leave my Captain. Settled."

Spencer crossed his arms. "Don't argue with me. You have a chance to get your family back, more than I will ever have." Betsy shook her head. Spencer continued, "And don't start with any rubbish like my responsibilities. None of it's true if we don't succeed." Betsy nodded with rapid blinking.

Cain sighed, "We'll see this through to the end." DG squeezed his arm as she nodded.

Dani squawked, "We should've listened to the General. Too late now."

Betsy released Sprite with a pat on her shoulders and turned back to the throne. "All right, I'm going first."

Roquat's smile was nasty. "Let us see if you know those you are bonded to as well as you think you do." He waved his left hand, and the rock wall to the right of the throne split until it formed an archway leading into darkness. "The collection room is through there." Betsy walked through it with a measured clip. The wall slid back into place with a grinding smash; no one could follow her.

Kaliko looked at the wall the longest, but DG couldn't read his expression. The crew's long faces of doubtful hope were all too easy to read. Sprite hugged DG around the waist. She soothed the Viewer's shaggy hair.

Dani rocked side to side by picking up each foot, and DG was glad her jacket was between her skin and the talons. "I probably should've gone with her. I could solve this much quicker than you humans."

"Let it be," Cain muttered. Dani only squawked in response.

A deep clang of a bell echoed up from far below their feet. They all looked up, and the wall opened into the archway again. But no one exited. DG's gaze flew to Kaliko's closed eyes first before turning to the throne.

Roquat grinned, showing all his stone teeth. "Who goes next?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** How badly do I sleep that I need to put an ice pack on my shoulder and neck when I wake up? I've been battling this for a week and it's getting old. Moving on, welcome some new reviewers: vanilla212, Nia223, kayleecal! Please don't go back to lurking. :D

I do like torturing Betsy, don't I? But if you've read _Ozma of Oz_, even Ozma failed to win the Nome King's game. Luckywynner86 was the first reviewer for chapter 30 and daughterofthe1king was for chapter 31. Who will make it for this chapter?


	33. Chapter 33

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-three**

Sprite howled before burying her face into DG's side, squeezing even tighter. Roquat blinked. "Was that a volunteer?"

"That was grief," Cain answered.

"Like I'm supposed to know the difference," Roquat muttered.

Cain ignored him in favor of their huddled group. "Who's up for it now?"

"Are we going according to rank?" Drake asked.

DG rolled her eyes. "Is now the right time to worry about that?"

"Seems like the perfect time. After all, you outrank me."

"Fine, I hate waiting anyway. Best to get it over with."

Cain grabbed her arm. "No."

"Wyatt, I can do this."

"And she can't not do it, according to the deal Betsy made with the rocky king over there," Dani added.

The skin was spasming over Cain's jaw as he pressed his lips together. "At least let me try to spare you this."

DG cupped Cain's face and drew it down for a kiss. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush to him, as his other hand tilted back her head. He pulled back first. "Wait for me."

"Don't take all day." She clenched her teeth together as he strode through the archway.

"He is a brave man," Morgan said.

"A good man," Spencer countered as he took charge of their supply pack.

"He's my Tin Man," DG whispered.

They waited. Spencer, Morgan, and Drake each took turns at the closest window watching the suns descend into the ocean. Cracks in the inner walls of the cavern filled with a red glow that reminded DG of molten lava. She glanced at them, and hoped that Rock Fort wasn't an active volcano on top of all the other surprises it had, before refocusing on the wall separating her from Cain.

Sprite let go of her. DG supposed her emotions weren't very good for the Viewer, even though she was trying to keep them hidden. She wouldn't give the Nome King any ammunition. Sprite moved to the wall close by Kaliko and had her eyes closed. Raw would meditate like that when visiting the Palace.

"Are you okay?" Dani whispered into her ear.

"Wyatt gave me his word. He's not leaving me ever again."

The chicken disguised as a parrot squawked. "That only speaks for his intentions, not what is done to him."

"If anyone does anything to him, they have to answer to me or his son. Guess which one of us is meaner?"

Dani moved to the outer edge of DG's shoulder. "I don't think I have to."

DG continued staring at the wall, reaching to sense anything beyond it. It remained frustratingly blank, but her wide-eyed poker face stared at it. Roquat wouldn't find a weakness in her to exploit. This was as crucial as facing down the witch and Zero in the Northern Palace, and just as deadly. They hadn't gotten anything out of her, now had they?

The strange bell clanged again and the archway opened. The world spun under DG's feet. "How delightful!" Roquat stared into space. "I've never seen the object he turned into before. Utterly unique."

She clenched her fists as she faced the Nome King. "This is wrong. You're toying with people's lives!"

"I didn't ask you to come and you agreed to play." Roquat sniffed, and reminded DG anew of the Royal Alchemist and how much she hated that man. "You have no cause to be aggrieved with me."

"You're right." She stifled the anger burning through her gut while the rest of the crew gaped at her. "But just so we're clear, every one correctly guessed leaves your collection, right?"

"Of course." Roquat's benign smile didn't reach his eyes, but anticipation did, the desire to cause pain, like the Royal Alchemist. "I can't wait to see what you turn into, my dear."

"I hope a live bomb you can't defuse!" DG snarled over her shoulder as she plunged into the archway. She inhaled as the wall closed behind her and Dani. They stepped out of the cave and into a manor house room. White paneled walls filled with built-in bookcases created a smooth rectangle. Crystal chandeliers lit by electricity hung down from molded plaster details on the ivory ceiling. Tables of all shapes and sizes and materials were arranged in rows down the numerous rugs. What DG had once heard Phoebe at the Hilltop call dust collectors sat on every available surface.

"By Billina's tail feathers," Dani said. "And this is what was left after Slate's explosion?"

DG turned, taking in the whole room. "How long has he been doing this?"

"You probably really don't want to know. I'm more surprised he hasn't managed to find any duplicates."

DG pointed to the marble-topped end table on their right. "Two ceramic cats."

"Two different colors," Dani pointed her red and blue wing at the purple ceramic kitten and the long-neck, peach-tinted statue of a Siamese in turn. "They're from two different countries so not duplicated."

"That's why you said colors are key to winning the game?"

Dani's chest puffed out. "That's how Roquat organizes his prisoners; each country has a different color."

"Great! Which color represents which country?"

Dani deflated. "I don't know. The next part of the story says Billina found the rest of the royal family of Ev and the members from the Outer Zone group who had been changed. Then they beat the Nome King."

"Why is it nobody wants to tell me **how** to do anything in this world?" DG closed her eyes against the threatening tears. Cain was in here somewhere and she had to find him. But there weren't enough chances to touch everything in here, which was Roquat's plan. "No, it's not going to end like this. That rocky bastard out there is not going to win!" She stomped her foot.

Dani flapped her wings to keep balance on DG's shoulder. "Don't break anybody!"

"Not planning on it." DG gritted her teeth as she reached inside for that power that made her skin tingle and things happen. A golden-yellow glow filled her outstretched hand. "Find Wyatt Cain."

The golden glow shot across the room. Dani squawked and took flight. "After it!"

DG's progress was hampered by winding her way around the tables and not bumping into them. The glow settled onto a long, polished mahogany dining table.

The scarlet macaw landed on the corner. "Son of a snake! It landed here, but I didn't see which one it picked."

DG panted. "I'll make it go slower next time. He didn't put a freaking time limit on the guesses."

"Sure didn't." Dani bent over for a closer look at a small harp with a human figurehead carved on one side. "Did your rooster like music?"

"Give me a minute, I'll find him." DG scanned the items. Nothing popped out at her screaming _Cain_, but then she couldn't expect a gun wearing a fedora, could she? "Roquat said he had never seen it before." She bypassed the white ceramic horse frozen in mid-gallop; there was a black statuette of a rearing horse on the table behind this one. Something familiar reflected light into her eyes from the table's center. She stretched around the bronze lamp in front of it, and scooped up the badge. She grinned down at the tweaked medal in her hand. "Wyatt."

Dani hopped along the edge of the table until she saw it. "Are you sure? What is that?"

"It's a Tin Man badge carved out of an emerald."

"His former profession?"

"It's not just that for Wyatt. It's who he is to the core." DG drew her finger along the green circle surrounding the star before resting the badge between both palms. "The Outer Zone."

Lightning flashed inside the room, but without the accompanying thunder and heat. DG felt the badge vanish as her eyes closed to protect themselves from the blinding light. She opened them as fast as she could. Cain stood in front of her, wide-eyed with surprise. She squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I found you!"

He squeezed her back. "DG?" He shook his head. "That was odd."

"And you were emerald green," Dani said. "Give me a boost, one of you." DG released Cain and tossed Dani into the air. The parrot flapped up to roost on the nearest chandelier. "Not seeing any more green."

"That makes sense. If green means the O.Z. and Roquat caused the Great Upheaval to get away from it, I doubt he was allowed to keep very many of its citizens." DG met Cain's curious stare. "What? I've been listening to all the stories."

"But you didn't believe them."

"Oh, like you aren't Mr. Skeptical-of-everything-under-the-suns. I grew up with natural disasters caused by tectonic plates, not a guy living underground who got pissed off."

"She's not nearly as dumb as she acts," Dani squawked above their heads. "Ready to do the beacon again?"

"Don't stand up for me, okay?" DG glared up at the chandelier before filling her hand with golden light. "Find Betsy Bobbins, slower this time!" The golden light shot out of her hands. Dani flew after it.

Cain followed DG. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I didn't know I could do that. Too bad I didn't have it on the Other Side, I would have been late only thanks to oversleeping."

The golden glow settled on one of the built-in bookcases. Dani landed on a coat rack standing next to it. "It landed on that ship in a bottle on the second from the top shelf."

Cain reached and grabbed the red tinted bottle with a darker red model ship inside. Even the fake water was red. DG gingerly took it. "What country?"

"She said the only home she could count on is the ship," Cain said.

DG nodded. "The _You and What Navy?_." The lightning flashed silently again, but this time Cain hugged her to protect her from it. She patted his chest, and pulled back to see Betsy leaning against the paneling. "You okay?"

"It was like sleep paralysis, only no dreaming or sensory input. I'd rather not do that again." Betsy shook her head.

"Then don't play games engineered for you not to win." Dani scratched herself with her beak.

"Nobody likes a self-righteous bird." Betsy glowered at her.

"Ready the sails."

"Stop it." DG stretched out glowing hands. "Look for where the next light lands. Find Treasure Granite."

Betsy's eyebrows disappeared under her hat's brim as the light skimmed above the tables. "Isn't that cheating?"

"He didn't say we couldn't use magic," Cain answered.

The Captain grinned. "We're corrupting you, Lawman."

DG and Dani reached the table first. "Missed the object again," Dani muttered. "Maybe you should have transformed me into my disguise. I think it can fly better."

"Betsy was red, so look for anything red."

Cain found it, a sculpture without faces but from the clothing it represented a man swinging a little girl in the air. It was carved out of a deep red marble. "Looks like the right red," he said as he passed it to DG.

She nodded, "_You and What Navy?_."

This time the lightning flash exchanged a young man about Betsy's age with thick blond hair and the beginnings of a blond beard. A little girl with curly red hair remained latched to his leg until her blue eyes spotted Betsy and grew larger. "MOMMY!"

Betsy scooped up the running girl in the aisle between tables. "Treasure, my precious Treasure." She rocked and hugged Treasure as she stood.

"Betsy?" The young man stared at DG and Cain before turning to who he knew.

"Malachite." The Captain wrapped a hand around the back of his head and pulled him into a passionate kiss. DG grinned at Cain and he smiled. The kissing couple broke apart. "Missed you," Betsy said.

Malachite remained stunned, so Treasure took over the conversation. "Scary rock man did magic, Mommy."

"I figured that out when you didn't come back." Betsy swung the girl to her hip.

"How long has it been?"

Betsy looked at the young man. "It's been a year, Mal," she said.

Cain's eyes narrowed, but before he said anything, Mal had another question. "Where are Thomas and Nick? Were they transformed too?"

Betsy winced. "Yeah, about them. Remember what I added to our wedding vows for pirate flourish?"

Malachite nodded slowly.

"I had to invoke it."

He ran his hand over his lips and chin. "Both of them?"

"Sorry, honey. And I promised Roquat he could have Slate since he tried to blow up Rock Fort."

Malachite's blue eyes bulged. "You actually talked to the Nome King?"

Betsy rolled her brown ones. "No, honey, I sailed in with cannonballs blazing. What kind of a pirate do you think I am that I can't acknowledge sovereign rights or a superior force? Yes, I talked to your boogeyman." He spluttered. "Take your time, Mal, we still have to sail out of here."

The floor shook, knocking everyone off their feet. An invisible force yanked them across the floor and back into the throne room cavern. They slid into Sprite, Spencer, Morgan, and Drake. Malachite rolled to his knees and a green shield sprang up over them, right before a lava ball exploded against it.

"Kaliko, get them!" Roquat roared, shaking the cavern. The roaring didn't stop with his words either.

"We don't want to fight!" DG scrambled to her feet. Roquat's eyes blazed. Cain moved behind her to guard her back. "We got our friends back by your rules. We'll leave now."

"General Kaliko can escort us back to our ship and take custody of Slate." Betsy jerked the astrolabe out of her bodice. "Take back the astrolabe so no other Topsiders will ever find you again, your Majesty."

Roquat shoved off the throne. His stone robes cracked and flaked until they reformed around his body. "You're not going anywhere!" Another ball of lava formed in his hand.

"King Roquat has gone unhinged!" Betsy yelled and pulled a grenado off her belt.

Malachite snorted, sweating with the effort to keep the shield going. "More like the whole door is missing."

"We had a deal!" DG bellowed at the stone monarch.

"You weren't supposed to win!" The Nome King heaved the lava ball.

DG pulled up her golden shield against the fire, even though Malachite's didn't falter. Ten of the gnome soldiers rushed toward them and she shifted her shield to surround them. They all bounced off the golden light. The roaring sound ended like a giant wind machine had been shut off. Her attention swiveled back to Roquat.

Other than his heaving chest, he didn't move. His eyes shone like two pilot lights on his face. "Ozma's light," Roquat snarled as his face contorted. DG's blood drained from her face as the blue flames in his eyes grew brighter. "Did you think I had forgotten the humiliation at the hands of the Royal family of the Outer Zone?" He didn't need the missing roaring bluster to his voice. "It is time for that light to extinguish forever!"

The floor vanished beneath DG's feet. Falling away from the throne room, she heard Cain's anguished scream, "**DG**!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Home computer went wonky this morning. Work is having Internet accessing issues. Hopefully I can catch up with reviews at lunch.


	34. Chapter 34

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-four**

DG's shriek contained no words. Stone pressed against her golden shield as she fell. This was worse than the marble sarcophagus. Her shield created the only light and it faltered the more the ground moved against it. Cain couldn't save her. There were no screws to loosen. Cain would never forgive himself.

Her shield flickered more, and DG felt her power slipping away. She pressed a hand against her stomach. "I'm sorry, Junior." Her voice cracked as she cried. "I should've been more careful for your sake." It was so hard to breathe, without Cain telling her how to. "I'm sorry you won't know your father."

"Who is she speaking to?"

"She is with child. Topsiders speak to their unborn as if the life form can hear them."

"Pathetic. She should be fighting back. She is much stronger than the King."

DG thought it would take longer before the hallucinations from lack of air started. Maybe the voices were the O.Z.'s version of angels? No, that would be too normal. She flashed back to a fantasy movie she had always enjoyed. "Hello? Who's there? Are you helping hands? I want to go up, please."

"She asks us to move against the King of the Mountain? What kind of witch is she?"

"The King is wrong. The Royal Family of the Outer Zone has never asked for anything. Not with the magic they wield."

"Maybe this one is defective. All that power and she's not even saving herself."

DG's anger spiked through her fear. If she was about to die, the least whatever deity was in charge could do was spare her from hearing how pathetic she was **again**. "Why do I bother being nice on this fucked-up world? Nobody appreciates it! Tell me who the hell you are or just shut up!"

"That's the attitude of an Outer Zone witch," one of the disembodied voices said approvingly.

"We are the Mountain of the Gnomes, and few curious gnomes who have never seen a Topsider before. We meant no harm."

"No harm?" DG echoed. "Your king dropped me down here to die!" Her movement through rock had stopped and she would keep talking as long as that held true.

"Roquat is lost to us. We cannot choose a new King of the Mountain until he dies."

"I'm not a killer," she whispered.

"True, and more will suffer because of it."

"Roquat will kill all the Topsiders inside the mountain."

"Then he will unleash the troops upon all Topsiders for the invasion of his dominions. So many will die."

Her throat closed up. The O.Z. hadn't yet recovered from the last war that was her fault. And they would have no warning about this one. "What can I do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing!" DG gritted her teeth. "Then why bother telling me?"

"You won't fight."

"You won't use your power."

"No one else can stop Roquat."

The golden shield was fading, leaving her drained. "I have no power." She stared at the light receding from her hands.

"Because you believe you are weak. Power does not respect that."

"The girl with the silver shoes understood that."

"No one could shake that witch's convictions."

"She didn't let Roquat continue hurting the country that adopted her."

"HOW?" DG screamed.

The voices fell silent. A patient tone finally broke it, as if explaining to a child, "By using her fury and turning it to justice."

"Let the witch be. We can watch the general kill the Topsiders in the throne room before she breathes her last."

Cain was in the throne room. Roquat was going to kill Cain because she couldn't protect him. Dani said all she had to do was visualize what she wanted and use her power to make it happen. She just had to want it bad enough. How badly did she want to save Cain? How badly did she want to let loose the fury inside of her for something good?

Something turned cold inside her. Her Tin Man had suffered enough; he would not lose her and their baby and his life. A pulsing blue light reemerged from her hands, and brightened the dark pocket she was trapped in. The power rolled over her skin, flowing more easily than her light ever had. The voices of the Mountain fell silent. Her shield reformed in the same swirling blue color. "Send me back or I will blast my way up."

None of the voices commented, but DG moved through the rock again. Red light poured in when the ceiling parted, pushing her egg-shaped shield onto the floor of the throne room. DG rolled to her hands and knees and looked up.

Roquat locked his blue-flamed eyes with hers. He squeezed his fists, and the floor undulated.

"Just let us go!" She sent a freezing blue blast across the floor and halfway up the walls, turning the stone unresponsive to Roquat's commands.

His eyes narrowed but gleamed blue. "Dorothy," growled out from every corner of the cavern. She stood as he sat on the throne. He shook his head, but never took his eyes off her. "Not Dorothy. She never went anywhere without those talismans attached to her feet. Yet the magic is unmistakable."

She pulled up her chin. "I am DG of the House of Gale, descendant of both Dorothy Gale and Ozma the Great, youngest Princess of the Outer Zone."

Malachite turned to Betsy, silently asking for confirmation. His wife nodded. "Not the brightest idea you've ever had, Captain," he said.

"I had to work with what I had. And the whole expedition was your bright idea, remember?"

Roquat bared his teeth. "You dare to invade my dominion?"

"There is no invasion, sand for brains!" DG's hands flew into the air. "We came to free Betsy's family, and now we're leaving."

"Seize her!"

"Don't you dare, rock boys!" Dani squawked and flew into the faces of the pair of soldier gnomes rushing toward DG. They braked, unprepared for a mass of feathers in their faces, and DG rolled a ball of energy at them. It knocked them over like bowling pins.

DG jerked her attention back to Roquat. "We want to preserve the peace!"

"I gave you Topsiders the peace you claimed to want, and still you torment me! There will be no recourse!"

Kaliko stepped forward. "Your Majesty, please! This is unnecessary. They only played your game."

"The Royal Family of the Outer Zone never comes to play!" Yellow spittle foamed in Roquat's mouth. "If separation is no guarantee of freedom, their annihilation must be!"

A quake shook the island, throwing both humans and gnomes off their feet. DG landed against a flesh body and his strong arms wrapped around her. "That worked 'bout as well as any other plan we've followed," Cain grunted.

She twisted to look at his face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, sweetheart, now that you're back."

Spencer found hand-holds on the wall and pulled himself up to the window. "The island is moving!"

Kaliko picked himself off the floor. His headlamp had smashed to pieces against the stone. "The Nome King is returning to the mainland!"

Morgan picked up his head. "What about the Archipelago?"

"All the islands will rejoin as well."

DG rolled off Cain. "But people live on the islands! Moving them around will cause tsunamis!"

"Will cause what?" Malachite asked as Roquat's laughter filled the cavern like a rock slide.

"An obliteration wave," Betsy snapped. "We have to stop him!" She jerked a grenade off her belt and hurled it at the throne.

The explosion rocked the whole cavern as rock bits flew through the air. Cain sheltered DG and she noticed Sprite doing the same for the red-headed little girl. Roquat's laughter didn't stop with the empty space where his head and chest used to be. As everyone in the cavern stared, that hole began to fill in, and reformed his face, and then his chest. "If it was that simple to kill me, Captain, don't you think someone else would have succeeded by now?" His laughter continued as Betsy and the rest of the Topsiders gaped.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** What I forgot to say last chapter thanks to all the computers going wonky at the same time: I updated my profile with links to extra goodies for this story. Be sure to check them out. :D

CinephileSandra regained her first reviewer status with chapter 32, but lost it to 2angelwings with chapter 33. Who will emerge as first with this chapter?


	35. Chapter 35

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-five**

Cain gritted his teeth as Roquat's laughter rang in his ears. Even the soldier gnomes stared at their monarch in dismay. With flapping wings, Dani landed on his shoulder. "And this would be why no one comes a calling," she muttered.

"Zounds!" Malachite said as he joined Spencer at the window. "How fast are we going, lad?"

"Faster than any ship." The boy's brown face had paled. "We've already cleared the Teeth."

Malachite jerked around to face DG. "Princess, I need your help, otherwise everyone on Kingsport will die."

DG stepped closer to him. "What do you want me to do?"

"Channel your power to me, I can shield the island."

"Aim the energy from Rock Fort into the sky," Betsy said, "otherwise, it'll obliterate the next island over."

"Righto." Malachite held DG's hand, and a swirl of green and blue lights emanated from them.

Roquat's chuckles stopped. "Kill them all, Kaliko, except the Gale Princess. She must observe what her arrogance has wrought."

The General looked pained. "Your Majesty, show mercy!"

"Mercy? Mercy! When have Topsiders ever shown us mercy?" Roquat and his throne grew taller and wider. His voice continued to thunder. "They steal our gems, force us into hiding, and then use magical trickery to get what they want! It ends! Even if we must kill each of them, it will end!" The blue fire in his eyes blazed larger. "Even if I must kill you."

Kaliko's shoulders slumped as he gestured. The armored gnomes formed a semi-circle around the Topsiders.

Betsy drew her sword. "Ready men."

Dani squawked. "This is suicide!" Her wings flapped as Morgan and Drake moved beside Betsy with swords drawn. Sprite pushed Treasure against the wall and crouched over her. Spencer guarded Malachite and DG. "You can't kill them with swords and bullets!"

Betsy spared a glare at the bird. "Now's the time to share better ideas!"

"Kill Roquat! He's the problem!"

"We tried that," Cain said as his hand wrapped around one of the grenadoes on his belt. One tug would free it to throw.

"Did you miss his reassemble trick?" Betsy growled. More soldier gnomes marched out of the walls and formed lines behind Kaliko's troop. "Oh come on! Haven't you ever heard of a fair fight?"

Dani moved her big beak right next to Cain's ear. "Chicken eggs are poisonous to gnomes. Please only hit Roquat."

Cain glanced at the disguised Chicken, gauging if she was finally telling the truth. His eyes fell on DG's glowing form. Just when his cynical mind had told him she was forever out of his reach, she clawed her way back to the surface and tried reasoning with the being that tried to kill her and wanted to kill the rest of the O.Z. "Supply pack!" he barked.

Spencer dropped to his knees and pulled it from the wall as Cain knelt too. "What's going on? You can't win the fight with a frying pan."

"Good thing we aren't using a frying pan, ain't it?" Cain set the pan into Spencer's hands and opened the wrapping around the six eggs. He took two carefully in one hand. "Stay close in case I need more ammunition."

He shifted one egg to his left as he stood.

Dani flapped off his shoulder and landed on Spencer's. "I hope it wasn't a load of chicken feed added to the story."

Kaliko's troop pressed in with swords raised. Roquat's head fell back as he laughed. Betsy parried a sword thrust. Cain narrowed his gaze on Roquat's gaping mouth and threw with all his might.

The white egg sailed between the stone teeth and down Roquat's gullet.

Roquat's laughter stopped and he clawed his throat. A hard white substance like dried mortar spread up and down from the middle of his body. Roquat screamed, and the soldier gnomes broke off their attack to stare at him instead. The pirates didn't lower their weapons. The white reached the top of Roquat's head and the soles of his feet, and he stopped moving and screaming. The golden belt gleamed around the seated statue before it crumbled. The belt fell onto the seat of the throne while the gnomes' jaws dropped.

"Nice pitching, Nolan Ryan," Betsy said with a relieved smile.

"Who?" Cain demanded as he set the fifth egg in the pan with the rest.

She headed to the throne. "It's a compliment, Lawman." Just then, the island's impact knocked everyone but the magic users off their feet. "I thought we had more time."

"No more time," Malachite groaned. The magic users held hands, but braced against the outer wall with their free ones. Their combined glows shone brighter. Their focus wasn't inside the cavern, and they both dripped with sweat. "Rock Fort is still moving. Kingsport will give way!"

Betsy's brown eyes opened wider. "Somebody put the brakes on this island!" The gnomes looked confused. "Weigh anchor! Stop it from moving!" Most soldier gnomes melted through the floors and walls, but the cavern began to tremble. Betsy held the throne's armrest to remain standing. "Now what?"

DG's head dropped. "The Mountain must have a King." Her voice sounded far away. "The Mountain needs to choose a King."

"Wonderful." Betsy snatched the golden belt off the throne. The mountain shook harder. "Catch!" She tossed it into the air.

Slack-jawed, Kaliko stared at the belt in his hands as the quaking subsided. "This cannot be." His body grew taller until he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Cain. His silver armor fell off as robes formed out of his body.

"The Mountain has chosen," DG said.

Betsy let go of the throne and stepped back. "King Roquat is dead. Long live the King!"

"Long live the King!" Morgan and Drake echoed.

"Kaliko the Painite!" the gnomes shouted.

"Roquat's tyranny had to end, but like this?" Kaliko buckled the golden belt around his waist. "This is not what I wanted."

Cain climbed to his feet. "The Mountain chose you for a reason. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to find that reason."

Malachite and DG broke apart. Cain caught hold of her around her waist. She blinked at him. "Good, you're okay. What happens now?"

"You have saved us, Princess. We will reward you." Kaliko pulled his sword free of his discarded armor. Gnomes of all sizes crowded into the throne room, giving wide berth to the Topsiders. "Malachite Granite." The young man leaned on Spencer as he approached the new king. "Your family has served as the Nome King's Steward without the influence of the King. We would ask you to continue this role and be our ambassador to the Topsiders. Do you accept this charge?"

Malachite bowed on one knee. "On behalf of my family, I would be honored to accept, your Majesty." Kaliko touched the human man's shoulders with the blade. Malachite moved to the side.

"Captain Betsy Bobbins." Betsy removed her hat but didn't bow. "You matched wits with Roquat to correct a greater evil in the Nonestic. Without your stubbornness, we would still be slaves to his whims. What boon do you ask for?"

"I have my Treasure back." She waved at the little girl leaning against Sprite. "There is nothing else on this world I desire. But on behalf of my men, who shared the risk, they prefer a treasure they can spend."

Kaliko nodded. "The child's weight in gold and gems will be given to each of your men." Drake and Morgan kept their mouths shut as they swiveled their attention between Treasure, Kaliko, and the Captain.

Betsy smirked at them before bowing with her leg swept out in front of her. Cain wondered if it was an Archipelago variation since he had never seen it done her way before. "Thank you, your Majesty."

Kaliko gestured his open hand at Cain. "We know not your name, Topsider, but please approach."

DG loosened her hold and pushed him forward. He looked back, making sure she could stand on her own as she shooed him. He stopped in front of Kaliko. "My name is Wyatt Cain."

"Wyatt Cain," the new king leaned forward, "your hand slew the tyrant, Roquat."

_Crap. But then, they all seemed thrilled he's gone; maybe they don't need to punish me._

"And only after he threatened the entire Topsider world. You did not use the eggs to blackmail Roquat into freeing his prisoners or in a fit of rage when he tried to kill your Princess. We have never met a Topsider of your mettle before. Your Princess calls you a man of tin. We believe you have been forged of a much stronger ore than that. Please kneel." The sword blade tapped Cain's right shoulder then his left. "In gratitude for freeing us from the tyranny of Roquat the Ruby, we dub you Lord Platinum of the Dominions of the Nome King with all the rights and privileges any Topsider kingdom would bestow upon a noble house." Cain stared up at the smooth, stone face. "Arise, Lord Wyatt, first lord in the history of the gnomes."

The damn collar was trying to strangle him, but he managed to stand. Some half-hearted suggestions to give him and Jeb noble standing had followed the Battle of the Eclipse. Both Cain men turned down the idea, not comfortable with being part of the class that had abandoned the O.Z. Now it had been thrust upon him, and he didn't think he could turn it down without causing a bigger mess. A smaller hand slipped into his and squeezed, and he looked at DG's beaming face. Her pride made it easier to breathe.

"Princess DG of the Outer Zone." One more squeeze and she let go to stride to Kaliko. "We apologize for your treatment in the Dominions of the Nome King. However, it has been proven that we must repair our relationship with the Outer Zone and the other Topsider kingdoms. We wish to turn the animosity into an alliance."

"I wish for the same." DG's voice and posture didn't betray the strain she had just gone through. "My people have suffered for too long with war and oppression, and your people have spent far too long underground. We must set aside past feuds for the future." She held out her hand.

Kaliko seized her hand, but didn't pump it. "We can carve out the details later. For now, accept a sign of the Nome King's good faith, Descendant of Dorothy Gale of the Silver Shoes." He pointed his free hand to the wall, which opened to the collection room's archway. People and creatures poured out of it into the throne room. Some garb was now only seen in history books, but they all had the same dazed expression on their faces. Malachite and Betsy moved to intercept them before they panicked.

DG grinned and shook Kaliko's arm. "That's the best good faith sign ever!"

Kaliko grinned as well. "You are easy to please, Princess. Now we should go and inspect the damages upstairs."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Be honest, is that how you saw the eggs being used? Is that who you thought would use the eggs? And Betsy?

CinephileSandra won back the first reviewer prize. :) And welcome a new reviewer WitchWeaver, who hopefully is relieved by this chapter ending.

My commute this morning just got awful with a wreck. Hopefully, I can avoid it with an alternate route and not be too late for work. Leave me some reviews to cheer my day up! :D


	36. Chapter 36

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-six**

Cain suspected the only permanent tunnels in the whole mountain were the ones that connected to the dock, probably designed to get Topsiders lost. Kaliko created a tunnel directly to the dock from the throne room. Everybody headed to the ship, and Cain hoped there was enough room for all the former collection objects.

Jenkins stormed down the gangplank. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" he exclaimed while his wide eyes sought Betsy. "Captain, what did you do!"

"Uncle Hank!" Treasure shrieked.

"Can't take all the credit." Betsy grinned as she passed the squirming child to the stunned Quartermaster and introduced Kaliko and his two protection detail gnomes. Then she started the convincing of everyone rescued to board the ship and sit out of the way.

Cain and DG ended up at the stern, leaning against the railing. She pulled his arm around her shoulders and leaned into his side. "Has it occurred to you?" She stopped with a sigh; her gaze fixed on the former prisoners sitting in the center of the main deck.

"That we're probably the only ones on this boat with an inkling of what they're going through, but our story would confuse them worse than they already are?"

"So it has occurred to you." She wrapped her arm around his waist. They watched the crew scurrying through casting off duties. "My magic's different."

"But you're still my DG," Cain said. She nodded. "Then nothing else matters." He kissed the top of her dark head.

"Lord Platinum," she giggled, "Jeb is going to get you for that."

"Jeb has a lot to rib his old man about, Lady Platinum. Might as well go for everything that'll unnerve him."

"Don't call yourself old. Not with the pitching arm you've got."

The ship glided into the early dawn of the open ocean. The sails unfurled and they circled Rock Fort. He hugged DG tighter to shield her from the wind. The south side of Rock Fort's cliffs now towered above the hill northwest of the town. But it looked like the town had escaped anything landing on it.

"The King says the gnomes can change the slope of it." Betsy joined them at the railing. "Separating the two islands at this point might cause more damage."

"You relinquished the wheel?" Cain asked.

"I probably won't have another chance to do this once we land." Cain raised his eyebrows as Betsy touched his and DG's silver collars. "Ado Annie." The silver loosened and slid into her hands. She held them out to Cain with a smirk. "Care for the honors, Lord Wyatt?"

"Thank you kindly, Mrs. Granite." He released DG long enough to hurl the damn things into the sea.

"I don't know how long it'll be before I can drop you off."

DG made a face. "That's alright. We've got treaty details to settle before telling the Army to get back on the right side of the desert."

"Are you going back with them?"

DG tensed, so Cain tucked her back under his arm. "We hadn't planned that far yet," he said.

Betsy nodded. "That reminds me to strategize with Mal."

"How his father will react?" Cain guessed.

"Item number two on the agenda." She nodded and headed for her husband and Jenkins, who were trying to hold an earnest discussion and keep a toddler off the rigging.

"What do you want to do?" DG asked.

"That depends on why they crossed the desert."

"I meant more generally. Do you want to explore the islands or head back to the O.Z. or visit another kingdom on the mainland?"

_And shoot a certain Prince who couldn't keep his hands to himself?_ "You'll need to deliver the treaty in person, sweetheart. That's the only way to ensure it gets honored." He felt her shoulders slump. "Beyond that, you need to be close to a midwife in about four or five cycles and ready to stay put. That gives us some time to decide where that will be."

She twisted her head to look at him. "You think it's going to be that easy?"

"Nope, but after what you just did, how can you be scared of your mother, my darling girl?" He smirked, and she twisted out of his hold.

Before he reacted, she captured him in a kiss. "You're right, I'm being silly." She moved back under his arm humming while he wondered if her body drives had started shifting already.

The _You and What Navy?_ sailed into the harbor mouth. Most of the crew hung in the rigging for the sails and began to sing.

_Oh, I thought I heard the old man say  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
It's a long, hard pull to the next payday  
And it's time for us to leave her_

The two warships that had guarded the harbor mouth were missing, and only about half the piers had ships tied to them. Most crews were in a frenzy to cast off now that the two suns were breaking over the horizon.

_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Betsy looked through a small telescope as they moved closer to the docks. "Mal, you better be the first one off."

He traded Treasure for the telescope. "Commander Neptunite. He hasn't retired yet? And half the guns in formation behind him."

"What has he done with the other half is an important question to ask."

_The skipper was bad, but the mate was worse  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
He'd blow ya down with a spike and a curse  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Malachite slid the telescope closed. "I know the important questions. Unless you want to take over the Island Navy today." Betsy shook her head with a laugh. "You think I'm joking? I need someone in the position who I can trust and who can lead." He moved toward the gangplank opening in the railing.

_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Betsy looked at Treasure on her hip. "Is your Daddy serious?" Treasure put her fingers in her mouth and nodded. "No. Me Commandant?" Treasure nodded again and grinned behind her fingers. "Mal, this isn't funny. You even have Treasure believing that!"

_Oh, it's rotten meat and weevily bread  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
It's pump or drown, the old man said  
And it's time for us to leave her_

"Aren't you the one who says honesty isn't a matter of profession?" he yelled back with a laugh.

_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

"Malachite Granite, you cannot give me a fleet of warships!" She kept a firm hold on Treasure as she strode after her husband. "That has to be against some ethics law!"

_Oh, what will us poor pirates do  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
When the money's gone, no work to do  
And it's time for us to leave her_

"Not for keeps, Captain. And it was your idea."

Betsy's voice carried over the entire deck. "MY IDEA?" Cain didn't hear Malachite's response, but Betsy's shout was clear. "Robert Kidd was a colossal failure and was hung!"

_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Kaliko joined DG and Cain as they reached the main deck. "She is a good leader. Is it really so bad to take charge of the Navy?"

"I don't think they discussed it," Cain said. "We Topsiders like discussing things before deciding."

The crew ignored the marital bickering and pulled the ropes through the metal cleats on the pier.

_Oh, it's one more pull boys, and that will do  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh we're the boys to kick her through  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Five armed riflemen dressed in the blue and white uniform of the Island Navy marched down the pier. The man Cain assumed was Commander Neptunite watched from the cobblestone street edging the harbor. The officer in charge shouted up at the ship. "The harbor of Kingsport is closed due to unforeseen calamity. Stop docking and head back out to sea."

The crew of the _You and What Navy?_ continued to work.  
_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

"Ignore this warning and the entire crew will be arrested!"

_So I thought I heard the old man say  
Leave her Johnny, leave her  
It's one more pull and then belay  
And it's time for us to leave her_

A volley of shots went into the air. Betsy passed Treasure to her father and leaned over the railing. "Belay that! There are innocent women and children aboard this ship!"

"Innocent is hardly the adjective to describe you, Captain Betsy Bobbins," the rifleman in charge sneered.

"Who said I was talking about me?"

"Turn this ship around now!"

"Stow it. I'm acting on different orders."

Another rifleman snickered, but recovered when his superior glowered at him. "On whose authority?" he snarled at Betsy as the gangplank slammed down in front of them.

"On mine." Malachite strode down the gangplank carrying Treasure. "Is my word not good enough, Ensign?"

"Malachite Granite?" The ensign's eyes bulged as he saluted, and didn't quite manage it as smoothly as he was trained.

"The one and only. 'Course, if the Steward's son can't give out orders, I suppose we can go straight to the King."

Betsy smirked at the group on deck. "That's our cue. Sprite, with us, I don't trust these navy chappies to deliver messages. Jenkins, keep everybody else on board until I tell you what's what." He nodded and crossed his arms.

Kaliko and his gnome guards descended before Cain and DG. The riflemen's training held their feet in place but didn't hide their shocked expressions. Malachite shook his head. "Ensign, go tell Commander Neptunite we're coming ashore and we'd rather not be shot."

The crew finished the last chorus as they walked down the pier with the Ensign running ahead of them.  
_Leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her  
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow  
And it's time for us to leave her_

Commander Neptunite was a lean, leathery man and looked to have ten more annuals on Jenkins' age. "By the gods," he muttered, "Malachite Granite?"

"Why does no one believe it's really me?" Malachite shook the Commander's hand. "It is me, Commander Neptunite, alive and well. What's the situation?"

"Perhaps you should tell me." He gazed at Kaliko before the rest of the group, ending with Betsy. "We have standing orders to arrest you, Betsy Bobbins."

"That's Captain. I earned my title same as you."

"Disregard any standing orders Thomas Slate left," Malachite said. "He's currently under guard for suspicion of treason." Commander Neptunite blinked hard to maintain his military composure. "There has been a dynasty change at Rock Fort, so I'd like to present King Kaliko the Painite. Your Majesty, Commander Neptunite is in charge of the Island Navy forces stationed on Kingsport." Commander Neptunite bowed, and kept his questions behind his lips. "I hope we aren't going to have any misunderstandings, Commander. It was his Majesty becoming King that saved us all."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"As long as it isn't something stupid."

Neptunite swallowed. "I can't say what the people will do, sir, but it might go down easier if the mountain didn't look like it will crush the town at any moment."

Malachite looked at the new cliff hanging in the air. "Yes, we need to do something about that. Speaking of the people, how'd you stop panic in the streets?"

"Put everyone under a curfew and started patrols to prevent looting. We were directing the ships to leave while the harbor was still clear." Neptunite glanced balefully at Rock Fort's mass. "Are you sure it won't move any more?"

"It will never move again, Commander Neptunite, as long as I have say over it." Kaliko stepped forward. "The gnomes can reshape the stone so it presents no danger of rock slides. That can be completed before the suns set."

"Splendid! Maybe you should put in a gate and a road. Depending on how you feel about visitors." Malachite bounced Treasure on his hip until she giggled. "We better leave the measures my father put in place alone until we get the cliff fixed, but we have a ship full of very confused refugees needing situating."

"Begging your pardon, sir, but there have been no orders from the Big House." Commander Neptunite rubbed his face. "I suppose for now, we can house refugees in the common areas of the fort. Where are the refugees from?"

"They were prisoners of the former Nome King, Roquat. King Kaliko released them." Malachite frowned up at the white manor house perched on the southern hillside. "This isn't like Father."

"He revels in a good crisis situation." Betsy rubbed Malachite's back. Commander Neptunite's military faade cracked. "That should be the next stop."

The young man nodded his blond head. "Right after we start caring for the refugees. We need their information: names, country of origin, when they were imprisoned, and they'll need men of tact and understanding to explain how long they were under the spell."

"Better break out the chaplains," Betsy suggested. Neptunite glared at her, but she ignored it to give Sprite the message for Jenkins.

* * *

**Author's Note:** WitchWeaver got the first review for the last chapter. Congrats for being so quick. :) So the adventure is over, but unlike the miniseries, I like to show the clean-up required before fade to black. And I think CinephileSandra, 2angelwings, Lauramichca, luckywynner86, griff-chan, and new reviewer Katieg08 could all use the breather before the next surprise. ;)


	37. Chapter 37

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-seven**

Once care for the refugees was set up, the Granite family along with Cain and DG borrowed a horse-drawn carriage from a jitney service and drove to the manor house, where Betsy and Malachite discovered they didn't need to worry about Bornite Granite's reaction to their nuptials. The return of the Nome King had frozen his muscles. Sprite couldn't revive him with Viewer talents. The alchemist gave no hope of recovery as well.

Malachite was now the Steward. While he may have been an idiot with choosing his friends, he took charge fast enough. He set up the military chain of command, dictated explanations for the clerks of the Steward's office to refer to when people asked questions, sent the servants in a tizzy preparing guest quarters, issued a formal arrest warrant with the burliest clerk to take Slate into custody, and delivered the agenda for the public ceremony schedule for tomorrow to introduce the Nome King and Lord Platinum before they had a chance to fall asleep.

Cain hid his face under the pillow after DG read the schedule out loud. "I hope Betsy pistol whips him so we can get some sleep."

DG locked their bedroom door and chuckled as she climbed into the four-poster. "Somebody doesn't like public speaking," she teased.

"The last time I had to give a speech, it was for the Mystic Man's birthday and he made me."

"Threatened to send you back to desk duty?"

He stuffed the pillow under his head and looked at her kneeling on the mattress. "Considering you only had a conversation and half that you remember with the man, it's frightening how accurately you know him."

"I think it's more about knowing you." She slid the hem of her white shirt up, revealing more inches of pale peach thigh. That focused his attention. "I don't like public speaking either, but they're expecting us to say something." The shirt hem grazed her hipbones. He hardened more looking at her smooth skin. "We need our story straight."

The shirt stopped and he looked up at her raised eyebrows. "Um, don't say anything about the slavers and the eggs."

"Yeah, no need for scared people to know the best weapons are in their chicken coops." The shirt hem hit below her belly button, and his hands twitched. "But why did we cross the desert?"

"You're killing me, darling girl. Get over here."

"You're ready to go to sleep?" She shook with her teasing voice. "Just a little work, Lord Wyatt, before we can play."

"You want a story to tell the public?" He narrowed his eyes. "Fine, we were kidnapped, brought across the desert, Betsy rescued us, we decided to help her rescue her family, we played Roquat's game, he went nuts when we won, and I had to kill him. Does that cover everything?"

The hem of the shirt rested below her breasts. "Think so. And no mentioning eggs."

"No mentioning eggs." Cain licked his lips. "Where's Dani?"

"She stayed with Spencer. Said she was tired of listening to us mate." DG peeled off her shirt and tossed it to the floor. He sat up and she giggled. "My lord."

"You're getting a kick out of that."

She shrugged. "After everything I tried to give and you wouldn't take, it's funny to see you unable to give it back."

"You're the one who tried to make me a noble?" He ran his hands down her shoulders and arms. "Why?"

DG cupped his jaw. "Because you are. Certainly more than those people who hid in their estates and let the witch ruin the O.Z." She smiled. "Too noble to even accept it."

He caressed her bare back. "I turned down those rewards because they weren't what I would ask for." He pulled her closer to his bare chest, and his voice dropped. "And I was told, in no uncertain terms, that a washed-up Tin Man couldn't ask for what he wanted."

Her lips grazed his jawbone. "You could've asked me."

"I didn't know how without losing you." She brushed her nipples against his chest. His blood pounded in time with her breathing. "But now, Lord Wyatt wants to make his Lady wife scream." He laid her on the pillows and kissed her before propping on top of her.

She licked her swollen lips as she opened her legs wider. Her hands stroked over his shoulders. "Lady Platinum is ready for her Lord's pleasure."

He laughed, kissed the valley between her breasts, and peered at her face. "Tell me they don't talk like this."

DG laughed. "How the hell should I know? You're the only lord I've slept with."

He ran his tongue over her hardening nipple. "I'd rather be the last."

"First, last, and only." She arched more of her breast into his mouth. He took her hint and suckled. "You're going to be good at it." His fingertips grazed her sides, causing her to inhale. "Making sure your people are protected and taken care of."

"You're thinking too much." He nuzzled the underside of her breast.

She ran her fingers through his blond hair. "Thought you needed more convincing."

Cain repeated the same treatment on her second breast. "If it makes you happy to be Lady Platinum instead of Mrs. Cain."

"Hey!" She jerked up his head. "I'm not a title whore. Mrs. Wyatt Cain is good enough for me." She huffed. "You deserve the recognition."

"And what people think?"

"It better be 'damn, she's lucky to get a hero like Wyatt Cain.'" She pulled him up and kissed him. "And I care what other people call you, because I love you."

He kissed her, which ended her point-making. "I'm doing what you want, stop trying to convince me."

She smiled with hooded eyes. "So we should move onto the 'I reward you' stage?" Her right leg curled up and she ran her foot along his spine.

Cain grinned as he moved down her body, pausing to kiss her stomach. He shifted her leg to the mattress, and pushed her knee out before peppering her inner thigh with kisses. DG moaned with her panting and he stroked her stomach and hips. Her moans included babbling once his fingers reached her other lips. He tasted her, and his name turned into a prayer. He continued nibbling as her orgasm shook her body. He tucked his forearms under her shoulders and held her while she recovered. "I love you so much, my wife," he whispered into her ear before kissing it.

Her hand pumped his penis before guiding it into her wet heat with a moan. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and clutched his shoulders. Her lips pressed into his neck before her teeth scraped his tendon. "I love you too." She ground her hips against his. "Show me more loving."

"How could I refuse?" He thrust into her.

They fell asleep after that round of lovemaking. But Cain woke up alone a few hours later. "DG?"

"I'm in the sitting room." After she yelled, he saw the door between the bedroom and the parlor was open. "Get cleaned up and dressed, 'cause we're going to have company."

"Is it tomorrow already?" he groaned.

"No, but it's getting ready for tomorrow." It wasn't in his best interest to argue, so he dug out a clean shirt and pants, showered, and shaved before exploring the situation in the sitting room. DG sat on the floor, using a coffee table as a desk. She bent over a sketchpad and a rainbow array of color pencils covered the wooden surface. A tray of food rested on the desk with a translucent blue glow over it. DG twisted and looked up. "That's yours. I woke up famished and didn't want to wake you. I kept it warm."

"That's alright, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead before sitting down to the luncheon. "What are you working on?" he asked as he examined the meal.

"Fashion design."

The fork paused before his mouth. "Should I be worried?"

"Now you sound like the seamstresses. Why does everyone think I can't come up with something pretty just because I grew up on the Other Side?" She put her chin on his shoulder and propped the sketchpad in front of the carafe of fruit juice.

She had sketched a faceless man in a suit. The pants were the tan color he preferred, but the tailcoat was a dark blue with a silver design. "Shouldn't it be black?"

"Only if you were going to a ball. You need a dress-up outfit that's not black tie."

Cain took a deep breath. "DG."

"Before you go all growly on me, you can't go in front of the people as Lord Platinum dressed like a pirate. I can't either. But there's no sense in wearing things that make us miserable."

"What are you going to wear then?"

"Well, if you don't like this, how do you think it'll look on me?" She grinned at him and took her sketchpad back to the coffee table. He turned to his meal. It wasn't like she could find a seamstress crazy enough to follow her design ideas. Someone knocked on the door and DG jumped to answer it before he could.

"Sugarcane and his missus!" Quincy breezed through the door with a trail of servants carrying material following him. "Though a little birdie told me, it's actually a lord and his princess. Are we setting up in here?"

"Yes, please, Mr. Quincy."

"Just Quincy, your Highness." The black-skinned man directed the servants to set the bolts of fabrics around the room.

Cain grabbed DG's arm and pulled her from the fray. "What is he doing here?"

She blinked her wide, blue eyes. "To help with our wardrobe issues." His lips twitched; he knew not to trust that innocent expression. "It's okay, I'll protect you from the tailor extraordinaire."

Quincy shut the door behind the curious servants and rubbed his hands together. His red unbuttoned frock coat billowed like a cape when he moved. "So you need something for the special announcements tomorrow?"

"And a few other appearances." Cain rolled his eyes as DG flipped the pages in her sketchpad. "I want to start a new fashion trend," she said.

"Sounds intriguing." Quincy blinked at the sketch. "Most women only work in pants, your Highness."

"Please call me DG. And the problem is I can't function as someone to take seriously all frilled up. Besides," she smirked as she looked at Cain, "our return to the O.Z. will turn a few heads."

"And might as well try to make them spin?" Quincy looked up with an approving smirk. "And what about Lord Sugarcane?"

The growl slipped out before he realized it. "Stop calling me that!"

"You're the one who insists on wearing pants like that. But if you'd rather I call you something else, I can oblige, Lord Honeybuns."

The only thing that probably saved Quincy's life was DG collapsing against Cain, helpless with laughter. Cain gritted his teeth as he held her mostly upright. "Stick with Sugarcane."

"Whatever makes you happy, Quincy will provide." He picked up the sketchpad while DG recovered. "So you're more comfortable with a frock coat?"

"What kind of frock coats did she draw?" Cain helped DG collapse onto the couch while she recovered from her laughing fit. She hadn't colored those sketches, so they looked normal. "Those are fine. Solid colors though."

DG waved the silver color pencil in the air. "Needs some platinum."

Quincy tapped his smooth chin as his brown eyes darted between the pencil and the sketch. "She's right, you need to pop for your first introduction."

"I don't pop." Cain crossed his arms with a scowl.

Quincy rolled his eyes as he headed to the fabric. DG shook her head. "Wyatt, do you even see yourself when you look in a mirror?"

"Some customers never realize how fabulous they truly are, Mrs. Sugarcane." Quincy carried back three fabric bolts. "Silver grey pants with this navy blue frock coat and to tie them together, a waistcoat out of this." He laid down a silky cloth in a deep blue divided with silver lines forming diamonds. "You can say it. Quincy, you are a genius."

"Quincy, you are a genius," DG repeated. "Do you like it?"

Cain nodded. "That won't stick out in Central City."

"You aren't wearing this to sport tin in Central City," DG retorted as she pointed at the material. Cain blinked, surprised he understood what had come out of her mouth. A blue flash enveloped the material and when it passed the finished garments laid besides the bolts.

"Well, I still have to get paid for the material," Quincy said after he closed his dropped jaw.

"You still have to alter if I didn't do it right."

Cain carried the garments into the bedroom without saying a word. He returned to model the clothing. They broke off arguing about DG's outfit, and Quincy nodded. "Needs a little adjusting." Quincy gestured to a small footstool with his measuring tape, and Cain assumed the seamstress position with a long-suffering sigh. "My, my, making sounds like that and I haven't even touched you yet."

DG chewed on her bottom lip as she looked up at him. "Do you like it?"

"Do you expect me to wear it everyday?"

"Only when you have to."

"Then it's fine." And it was, once he got used to it. DG broke out in a huge grin and dug into the fabric while Quincy finished marking for the adjustments. By the time Cain had changed again, DG had a pile to try on.

"You two will be my quickest commissions ever." Quincy folded the garments into a skinny box, and looked at the closed bedroom door. "Do her parents know about the two of you?"

"Why do you ask?" Cain met his skeptical brown eyes easily, but that didn't shake the shrewdness from them.

"She's only got one outfit sketched for her. Everything else is for you, Sugarcane. In my world, that means giving you options to put your best dressed foot forward."

Cain sighed. "It's not me."

"She knows. Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept drawing the wrong hat on most of them." He showed a sketch of a suit Cain hadn't seen, and there was a battered fedora on the featureless head. "She wants to make a statement, and you need to step it up a notch."

DG returned wearing a grey pair of pants and an emerald green tailcoat. "I like it, but I'd rather match Wyatt."

"Mrs. Sugarcane, they expect a princess of the Outer Zone to show the green." Quincy tapped his fingers against his chin as DG climbed on the footstool. "And you might as well make some silver shoes to keep them from asking about those too."

She glared back. "I'm not wearing heels."

"You could make them thigh-high boots and nobody will tell you different." Quincy had her extend her arms to test the fit. "But I won't let you wear thigh-high boots with those pants." He helped DG off the footstool. "You don't need any adjustments."

There was a knock at the door, and Cain opened it for a maid. "The Nome King is asking to see the Princess if she's available."

"Wyatt, don't kill him; I'll be back in a minute." She ignored the look of exasperation Cain aimed at her as she rushed to follow the maid.

He looked down at the sketchpad. Quincy was right, other appearances meant the Queen. It was a small display of sass, a united front in pants, but it meant a lot after she had mentioned wardrobe differences in her time loop projection. She was trying to take something back for herself. He turned to the colored suit she had shown him earlier. She was also trying to make him comfortable with the pants and hat he preferred. If that's what it took, he'd suffer a little discomfort for DG to show her sass. He had suffered worse already for her. He brought the colored sketch to Quincy. "She's proud of this one. Showed it to me right before you got here."

Quincy wiggled his eyebrows. "She has a very good eye."

"If the collar could go a little lower than that, and a matching set."

The tailor shook his head with a laugh. "Sugarcane, you better pray for sons."

"What makes you say that?"

"More girls like that one and there won't be anything left of you to wrap around any fingers." He quickly plucked the tan material for the pants out of the rest, but the blue ended up being harder. They settled on a silk with a more geometric design embroidered in silver.

When DG returned, they were looking for a collar tall enough for a tie but low enough not to strangle. "What did the King want?" Cain asked.

"My opinion on some jewelry." DG touched the blue silk bolt on the coffee table. "What's this for?"

"We need suits to return to the O.Z. court in." He braced for it this time and Quincy ducked out of the way of the squealing woman.

She latched onto Cain's neck. "I thought you weren't going to go along with it!"

It was too easy to make her happy, and he didn't think she should realize how happy it made him to make her happy. "The look on Zipperhead's face is worth putting on a tie."

She giggled and released him. "I've been thinking of Az's reaction, actually."

"Okay, enough plotting." Quincy clapped his hands. "Make with the magic 'cause you still need shirts."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **This chapter includes the scene where for the first time as a writer, a character of mine did something so totally unexpected I was reduced to helpless laughter for a good hour. Normally I'll just have a chuckle or two, but not for this. Who will be the first reviewer to correctly identify what set me off?

CinephileSandra regained the lead last chapter, wondering about all the Other Side references from Betsy and Jenkins. It's time to declare personal theories about it because the answer will be revealed in two chapters!

I hope Katieg08, luckywynner86, 2angelwings, griff-chan, and vanilla212 are all pleased with Cain and DG's attempt at bodice ripper parody, poking fun at Mal despite his family situation, and the clue as to what DG is planning to do with her own family mess.


	38. Chapter 38

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-eight**

By the end of announcement day, DG had decided they could have used Malachite after the Battle of the Eclipse. He had a gift for making what should be an absurd explanation perfectly acceptable, starting with what happened to him and his daughter a year ago. They didn't need Sprite's talents as a Viewer to show the events in a mirror.

He outlined Slate's treachery before launching into his secret wife's quest. The whole slavery bit wasn't mentioned. He wrapped up his part with Roquat's reaction when DG had won his game and how the mountain had chose Kaliko.

The grudging crowd waited for the new Nome King to speak. Kaliko explained how he wanted to better the lives of both gnomes and Topsiders, with improving the harbor and letting gnomes travel as they pleased. Spencer, as King of Pingaree, announced he was continuing the alliance with the Nome King, and DG's announcement of a full treaty with the O.Z. shocked the audience. But Treasure meekly accepting a sapphire pendent and hugging Kaliko without prompting melted their hearts.

Betsy inhaled to keep from laughing out loud. "And they all think I'm the dangerous one in the family. Wait 'till Treasure comes of age," she whispered to DG while they sat on the stage. "That was all her idea because she said everyone was getting something pretty but her."

But DG's favorite moment was Cain's homage ceremony. He swore to protect the people under his care and to uphold the Nome King as long as he remained a just ruler. Kaliko named the Isle of Patrippaxy Lord Platinum's estate and set his new platinum chain of office around Cain's neck.

Cain's crystal blue eyes widened seeing his new family crest hanging as the insignia: a five-point star carved from a benitoite gemstone and suspended in a circle of platinum. DG bit her lip until he flashed his rare smile at her, and then pride and relief she had picked the right thing rushed through her.

Kaliko ended his speech with naming Betsy the Commandant of the Island Navy, chosen for her relentlessness under adverse conditions. Betsy quieted the crowd by explaining that the Island Navy's size would be reduced and all sailors wishing to leave the service would be allowed to do so honorably.

The audience still looked skeptical, and Malachite ended the ceremony by declaring a public holiday, with a reminder that anyone they could bring concerns to the Steward's House during business hours, starting tomorrow. That gave the audience something to laugh about as they left.

The crew of the _You and What Navy?_ got their booty at the Steward's House, and no one complained about the amount. More surprising was how many of the pirates said they were sticking with Betsy, despite now enforcing the laws. The three who had sided with Hodges during the mutiny elected to retire along with Drake, who said he didn't need more grey hairs. Spencer would return to Pingaree to be king. Jenkins demanded that he would be the only first mate and quartermaster of the _You and What Navy?_ as long as he breathed, and his pay scale better reflect two jobs. The event round down with the most riotous party the Steward's House had ever hosted-judging the servants' expressions-with a fabulous meal, various drinks, and singing. DG ended up the only one sober to explain Topsider behavior to Kaliko.

So she was surprised to find Malachite hard at work the next day when she was guided to the Steward's study after breakfast. Stacks of papers and books covered the massive desk, but he sat at the circular table surrounded by more papers. "Wyatt's still sleeping it off and you had more to drink than he did."

"The first magic spell I created was a cure for hangovers," he grinned. "Ready to see how our countries can help one another?"

"I have a few ideas of what the O.Z. needs, but no idea what we can offer in exchange." DG sat down with a view to the ocean outside the closest floor-to-ceiling window.

"You bargain like Betsy. No subtlety to it whatsoever."

DG propped up her chin. "Should I wear a sword too?"

Malachite shook his head. "She will duel. And she doesn't believe in practice fencing." He shuffled some papers. "I suppose we are in better shape considering what the Sorceress put the O.Z. through. But we lack clout."

"I understand that feeling."

"It's worse with the mainland realms. Having the O.Z. recognize us as a legitimate government will reduce the threat of war."

"That many people have issues with the Nome King?" DG made a notebook and pen.

Malachite's blue eyes crinkled. "Interesting method of binding with the metal loops. Ev has always considered the Archipelago part of their territory, and try to annex the closest islands. Unfortunately for them, they haven't figured out how to build a better navy. The pirates won't help them because they keep trying to shut down Mount Cove."

She squirmed. "I didn't intend for the Army to mess everything up there."

"They may not have. Betsy sent out a ship to investigate. Getting rid of the Market has always been on my agenda, and the O.Z. has an interest, considering how many of your citizens have been sold through it." He passed her a sheet of paper. "These are just estimates, provided by the Sorter a few annuals ago. I don't know if Betsy has been getting updates."

DG felt queasy at the amounts. "How can we find them all?"

"They keep records, if they haven't been destroyed. It may take magic. The search won't be finished quickly."

She frowned as she wrote down the details. Cain would have the best ideas for that. "It's not really a treaty detail," she said, remembering the treaties she had to study to see what could be fixed that the witch had broken.

"Making sure those who profited are punished on both sides of the desert is." Malachite smirked. "Still, we're crafting a historical document, we better put some poetry in it."

Hours later, DG was in the middle of telling him how the witch had turned nearly all the manufacturing centers into munitions factories when Cain joined them. "Are you two planning on eating the paperwork or do you want real food with the rest of us?"

"We need a clock in here." DG stretched.

Malachite's head swiveled. "I could've sworn we had one. Any how, you are a guest, you didn't need to come shoo us out."

Cain smirked. "I'm the only one left. Betsy got called to a meeting, Sprite is keeping Treasure entertained, and the servants are all miffed about the party."

"I thought I told them to loosen up and have fun."

"You did," DG confirmed, "but I don't think they took you seriously when Wyatt and Jenkins had to pull you off the chandelier."

Malachite grinned and rubbed his blond whiskers. "The next party ought to be one they can be proud of. That means a ball in your honor, DG." She cringed, and hated herself for the automatic reaction. Malachite didn't miss it or how Cain tightened his arm linked with hers. "We could say it's for the treaty but that won't fool anyone." He snapped his fingers. "I know! We'll make sure the King is there and they'll be too uncomfortable to make anyone else uncomfortable."

They reached the bottom of the staircase at the same time Betsy entered through the main door and Sprite chased Treasure into the main hall. Betsy swung her daughter into the air. "Hungry, Mommy!"

"You're hungry." Betsy set Treasure on her hip. "Daddy." They both looked at Malachite.

He raised his hands. "Working, lost track of time, and two witnesses." He led them into a dining room that already had a set table. He kissed Betsy's lips as he helped her into a seat. "How did the meeting go?"

Betsy wrinkled her nose. "They're all still breathing."

"That's good, right?" DG leaned away as a black-clad waiter served the salad.

"Navy's different from pirate leadership. You have to maim someone for some respect." She waved her fork. "Been told I shouldn't do that with Navy leaders. But this meeting was on the refugees."

"How are they taking it? Finding out what happened to them," DG added to clear Betsy's frown.

"No one needs medication for shock, which I think is positive. The Navy chappies are more pessimistic. But the problem is they're a bright bunch and have realized you can't go home again." She sighed at the confused expressions surrounding the table. "They don't want to return to their kingdoms of origin. They want to stay here."

Sprite cocked her head. "Won't fit. Kingsport close to full."

"And you get the cookie, Fuzzy."

Treasure stopped poking at her salad. "Me want cookie too."

"After real food."

Malachite swallowed. "We figured they'd want more familiar locations. I guess we'll have to give them to Lord Wyatt."

Cain choked on his salad. "Excuse me," he said with an unamused look, "give them to me?"

"Poor phrasing. The Isle of Patrippaxy is only inhabited when the Steward decided to vacation there, which is why we established it as your holding. They could move there and pay you rent."

Cain's face glowered less when he looked at DG. "We hadn't decided where to live yet."

"That's easy." Betsy set her salad plate into the waiter's hands. "Hire an estate manager. A couple of the guys I talked to might be good candidates. At the very least, they struck me as being practically pragmatic."

"Can the island support that many people?"

Malachite nodded and cut into his grilled fish. "It will be a colonizing effort, but doable."

"Supplying all of them won't put a dent in our treasure from the gnomes," DG said.

"Do you want to talk to them this afternoon and see if they agree to this plan?" Cain turned to Betsy.

She poked at her fish. "I'm free. And it'll make my new underlings stop worrying they'll be stuck with them."

"Don't call them underlings," Malachite said. "It hurts their feelings."

"Do you have cattle in the O.Z.?" Betsy looked across the table at DG.

"The Western Guild Territories have some ranches, why?"

"Put food trading in the treaty. I miss steak."

Food trading turned out to be a good suggestion, but it still took a week to finalize the details. In exchange for diplomatic recognition and trading opportunities, the O.Z. would get access to the Archipelago's markets and gnome expertise for mining and building projects. A building project DG hoped they would start first was a tunnel under the Deadly Desert and extending the Brick Route across the Grasslands to it.

She finished packing her treaty copy into a leather portfolio. The celebration ball for it was tonight. In the morning, they would sail to Mount Cove and meet the Royal Army. Malachite rifled through the drawers of the massive desk that he hated sitting behind. "I swear I will never understand my father's filing system. I need to make a clerk reorganize all this."

"What are you looking for?" DG paused in front of the desk.

"One minor detail that we forgot."

She opened her portfolio. "But everything's been signed! What did we miss?"

"Found it." He slammed the paper on the desktop and signed it quickly. "You know, you have trusted me with a lot about yourself."

"I don't think you will take advantage of it."

"True and Betsy would hurt me if I tried. But I'd like to offer you some advice, if it's not too presumptuous."

Malachite looked so serious, DG's curiosity was piqued. "Everybody has advice, I've given up trying to stop getting it."

"I know how hard it is dealing with a parent who is convinced their way is the only way." His gaze drifted to the wall between them and his father's quarters. "It's worse when they manipulate the pieces of your life like moving pieces on a chessboard." DG pressed her lips together as he looked at her. "There's only one way to be happy. Don't play chess when it's not your strength; play dodge ball instead."

She burst out laughing at his earnest expression, and Malachite chuckled too. "Dodge ball?"

"I know it's not a metaphor most would use. But at some point you have to throw a ball in their face while they're playing chess. That's what I did when I introduced Treasure as my heir."

"How did your father take it?"

"Ranted insanely and loud enough to shake the plaster off the walls until Treasure gave her grandfather a hug and a kiss. My child knows how to wrap people around her finger. The dodge ball doesn't have to be violent. But don't tell Betsy that." DG nodded, and he continued. "See, she doesn't understand that the weapon of court politics is paperwork, and I think she enjoys watching people she doesn't like bleed."

"Even better if she causes it." DG smiled as she took the paper Malachite handed to her. Her blue eyes widened. "A marriage certificate?" It was dated and signed by Malachite Granite with Betsy and Jenkins' signatures as witnesses. All it lacked was her and Cain's signatures as the wedded couple.

"It's hard to undo what has already been done. Most people leave it alone. You two are as man and wife as two people can possibly be." Malachite smiled. "And I'm a secret romantic that doesn't want to see anyone unhappy."

"Thank you." She cradled it next to her heart with the leather portfolio keeping it flat. "We better get ready for the party." She hummed all the way to her and Cain's suite, and avoided the boxes and trunks of their belongings. "Wyatt?"

"In here," he yelled from the bathroom.

She followed the trail of wet footprints across the rug and watched the man she loved peel off his soaking wet shirt. "And me without any platinums." She giggled at his glare. "What happened? I thought you were going to sit on the beach with Betsy and the kids."

"I waded out to prove a point, and Sprite and Spencer knocked me into the water." He yanked a towel to him more forcibly than he needed and mopped the water clinging to his chest.

"Do you need any help?"

He raised his scarred eyebrow. "I was expecting an attempt to get out of the ball, but I didn't think you would suggest that."

DG lifted her nose into the air. "The only ulterior motive I had is needing you to look at some paperwork and not drip on it." She flounced to the desk in the sitting room and set down the marriage certificate.

"By the gods, what is left? You two got everyone's opinions on everything already." Cain knotted a bathrobe around his waist as he joined her.

She gestured at the desk. "How do you feel about making this official, my Tin Man?"

He picked up the certificate, looked at her with wide eyes, and then looked back at it again. "I think," he said as he set the piece of paper back on the desk, "I'm old-fashioned and would like a ceremony along with this. Why don't you want one?"

"I'm not against a ceremony," she answered, touched that he wanted the romantic gesture. "But I like having something to keep my mother from killing you and marrying me off to Aedan because a baby is on the way."

"And you think a piece of paper will stop that."

"Hopefully, it'll befuddle her enough to make our escape. Malachite has a point with the weapon of politics is paperwork."

Cain shook his head. "I think you'd have better luck with attaching it to a stick."

DG felt her insides clench. That stupid piece of paper had made her feel better over what they faced, which must be a totally irrational fear, judging by Cain's reaction to the idea. "Okay, fine, bad idea. Sorry for loving you and wanting to live the rest of my life with you. Forget it." She stalked through the bedroom door, blinking back sudden tears.

"You're serious?" He caught the door before it slammed shut. He found the answer to that question in her fallen expression and followed her into the bedroom. "Why bring up your mother?"

"Rest of our lives sort of means you don't die. That's why I brought her up."

"I thought you were worried about how she wants you to appear." He stopped in front of her, not masking his confusion as anything else.

"The last thing she wants is for you to be my husband, Wyatt Cain." DG stopped gesturing and closed the space between them. "But you're the man I want." She pressed her hands against his chest. "I love you, Husband."

He smiled as he cupped her face. "I'm sorry, Wife." His arms wrapped around her and drew her into his gentle kiss. "I'm worried about this court crap and hiding it from myself too."

"That's not good. We can't both freak out at the same time."

"We'll get a routine down by the time we reach Central City." He tugged her toward the sitting room. "Better sign and pack it so we don't forget it here."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Not only was CinephileSandra the first to review last chapter, she was the first to quote the line from Quincy that nearly made me stop breathing.

This is a quiet chapter, but big in how far DG has come, especially in her relationship with Cain. And they need to be a united front when they confront the Royal Army of the O.Z.


	39. Chapter 39

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Thirty-nine**

"I can't do anything with this stupid hair."

Cain straightened his dark blue frock coat as he turned toward DG's voice. They were about an hour away from Mount Cove and had retired to their cabin to change. DG sat on their bunk and released the hairbrush, which remained tangled in her dark hair, with such an aggrieved sigh that he had to laugh. "How did you manage that?" he asked.

She glared. "If I knew how, I'd stop doing it. See if you can get it out, so I don't reenact my graduation disaster."

"What happened?" He bent over the bristles to see what she had done.

"Mom had to cut my hair the morning of the ceremony because we couldn't get the hairbrush out and I had burned off a hunk with the curling iron."

"So you don't like maids hovering, but you need a hairdresser," he chuckled. "Are you that nervous?"

She remained still as he pulled the strands free. "This is it. We're never going to sleep in this bed again."

Cain pulled the hairbrush free and kissed her forehead. "No turning back now."

"I know." She glared at the hairbrush. "I better use my magic."

"As long as you don't make it another color." Someone knocked on the door, and he swept his eyes over her emerald green tailcoat and silver pants. They were both dressed enough for visitors.

Spencer wore a purple doublet and pants with a gold coronet holding three great pearls around his head. The freshwater pearls Cain had seen in the O.Z. were the same white color, while Spencer had one tinted blue, one tinted rose, and the center one was pure white. Dani perched on his shoulder, spoiling his royal image.

Kaliko followed Spencer inside. "I hope we're not disturbing you."

"Not at all, we're almost ready to head up." Cain leaned against the wall. This many in the cabin made it impossible to move.

Spencer looked sheepish. "Dani pointed out a detail we forgot about."

"You would find it," DG muttered. "What has to be rewritten now?"

The chicken's russet feathers ruffled. "Nothing that I know of. But you two don't have any wedding presents for the wedding we're all pretending to have attended." She clucked. "And your vows were so touching too."

"So we decided to rectify that situation," Kaliko interjected.

DG smiled. "You didn't need to after everything else you've given us."

The Nome King shook his head. "The treasures and title you earned, and the treaty is for both our peoples. This is just for celebrating your future." He tucked his hands into his grey-brown robe and pulled out a pair of silver hair combs studded with emerald chips in a sweeping design to crown the sides of her head.

DG took them, blinking. "They're beautiful. Thank you." Her black hair twisted into a knot without using her hands. She anchored the mass against her head with the combs.

Spencer grinned as he passed a clamshell box to Cain. "A Pingareen pearl. No other island has pearls like we do. I didn't know if you'd want to put it on something to wear." He shrugged as Cain opened the box and marveled at the green-tinted pearl slightly smaller than the ones in Spencer's coronet.

"Thank you both." DG kissed both Kaliko and Spencer's cheeks. "But you will be invited to whatever we have in the O.Z."

"But we don't know if we'll be able to come," Spencer said. "Duty first."

"Speaking of duty, we better be on deck when we dock." Dani's clucks shooed them up the forehatch stairs.

"You could come with us, Dani," Cain said.

She clucked as she resettled on Spencer's shoulder. "Thank you kindly for the offer, but I don't think I'd survive meeting your wife's mother hen. Besides, the rooster here needs someone to keep an eye out." Her wing brushed Spencer's head.

The suns drenched every inch of the deck. Sprite, dressed in a white shirt and breeches, twirled Treasure. "Pirate song, pirate song, pirate song," the human girl in the green and gold dress chanted.

"Captain," Sprite cried. "Sing her the song, please!"

Betsy handed the wheel over to Bonnet before she headed down to the spinning girls. She wore a gold satin doublet with a pair of knee-length breeches made of stripes of the same golden satin and green brocade embroidered with gold that matched Treasure's dress. They blurred together as mother grabbed daughter and they spun. Sprite sat on the deck with a sigh. "You want the pirate song, Treasure?"

"Pirate song!"

Betsy stopped spinning and set Treasure back on her feet, holding her hands and swinging their arms.

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me  
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho  
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho _

DG's jaw dropped open. "What the hell?" She whirled until she found Jenkins standing near the railing singing along with gusto, and marched to him. "Crazy like Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Jenkins burst into hearty guffaws. "You didn't know? I thought we'd given ourselves away a hundred times. Your husband figured it out."

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me  
We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho  
Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho_

"And you didn't tell me!"

Cain stepped back from DG's shriek. "Betsy says 'years' and she understood what came out of your mouth when no else did."

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me  
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho  
We burn up the city, we're really a fright  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho_

DG spluttered. "This world has two suns, three moons, flying monkey bats, living rocks, talking chickens, and lunch pails that grow on trees! Can you blame me for thinking the pirates are real and not Disney pirates!"

"Now I object." Jenkins grinned. "We are real pirates. We only worked for Disney."

_We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho  
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho_

"What's Disney?" Spencer leaned closer to Cain.

"I have no idea."

Betsy scooped her daughter up in her arms and rubbed noses with her.

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me  
We're beggars and blighters, ne'er-do-well cads  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho  
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads  
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho_

She turned back to the spluttering DG. "What's wrong?"

"She just found out you're Slippers," Cain answered.

"You didn't tell her?"

"I thought she knew!"

Betsy laughed. "There's no secret handshake, Lord Wyatt. We were all trying to blend in."

Jenkins snorted. "Not singing ballads from Queen and Sting would help."

"The whole crew knew!" DG wailed.

"I didn't," Spencer said.

"Don't freak out," Betsy said. "The only Slippers here besides you are me, Jenkins, and the ship."

Cain's eyes widened as he stared over the _You and What Navy?_. "How did you get a ship through a travel storm?"

"Is that what you call it? We were sailing to the Caribbean to film the sequel and got caught in the worst weather I have ever experienced. I don't know how the old girl didn't sink. Betsy and I were the only ones to survive. Limped into Mount Cove, and well, everyone else was pirates," Jenkins shrugged.

"And we had working cannons." Betsy smirked.

"_Lady Washington_ and the _Interceptor_," DG muttered, hands on her hips. "But they blew up the _Interceptor_ in the first movie?"

"What's a movie?" Spencer asked Cain.

"Entertainment on the Other Side, like a play."

"What is a play?" Kaliko asked.

Betsy continued before Cain answered the Nome King. "She would have been a different ship. What ship, no clue; they were still working on the scripts when we crossed over. So they actually released them?"

DG nodded. "Pretty good box office too. Disney added Jack, Barbossa, and Davy Jones to the ride."

"I bet Johnny and Geoffrey both got a kick out of that." Betsy set Treasure down and the child took off across the deck. "Did they ever get Keith Richards on film?"

"Yeah, he showed up as Captain Jack's father in the third one." DG tilted her head. "So you were extras or crew?"

Betsy leaned her elbows on the railing. "Crew. Jenkins was off camera telling Johnny how to steer and I was Keira Knightly's stunt double. Dive off the cliff in the dress? All me. Underwater, stunt diver. Manhandled and semi-stripped by Johnny Depp, all Keira." She made a face and shook her head. "Look lively, men! We're coming into the harbor. Let's make a good impression!" She and Jenkins bustled off to get the crew in line.

The entire harbor was empty of ships, and the shanty town between it and the Market warehouse looked deserted. A tent city had been set up next to the warehouse, where you could keep an eye on both the desert and the ocean. Malachite leaned his gold doublet covered chest and arms against the railing next to Cain. "When pirates clear out, they clear out."

"I'd skip the comparison to rats," Cain said.

"Good idea." Malachite straightened. "Here comes the welcoming party." A trio of green clad soldiers rushed across the piers to meet the _You and What Navy?_'s gangplank. "Time to act regal."

The young soldiers took up position to bar access to the land. "State your business."

Malachite paused at the top of the gangplank. "The Nome King demands an audience with your leader, Outer Zone soldier."

Whatever response Malachite was expecting, what he got wasn't it. The soldiers' mouths fell open, though the speaker recovered first. "The Nome King, are you crazy? You must be crazy; you're not a gnome."

"Not exactly a credit to our reputation," DG whispered to Cain.

He winced. "Worse, I know that kid." He leaned over the railing so he could be seen. "Corporal Carroll?"

"Commander Cain!" the young soldier jumped.

"Let us ashore, I vouch for them."

Carroll gestured for them to disembark with a grin on his face that even real gnomes didn't dampen. "The Captain will be so glad to see you, Commander. And the Princess, too!" He saluted as DG joined Cain's side. The other two soldiers saluted, but focused their dismayed expressions on Kaliko and his two protection detail gnomes. DG smiled and gave Carroll an at-ease gesture. Carroll opened his mouth as his hand dropped. "He's been worried sick since your trail went cold here and then the Ambassador from Ev showed up, thinking we can hand over this area to them."

Kaliko turned to Malachite. "Some things have not changed, I see."

Carroll's grin waned when he focused on the gnomes, but Cain wasn't losing this source of information. "What are you doing here, Corporal?"

"Half a dozen of us volunteered when we heard you were in trouble, sir. And Base Commander Leblanc let us join the troop from Central City for this mission. But the Captain will want to explain that. This way."

"Progress," Malachite said as they followed the trio off the piers and up the path to the tents.

"Which Captain was sent to find us?" DG kept her voice even, but the hand gripping Cain's tightened.

"I didn't say, your Highness? I'm sorry. It's Captain Cain's mission."

Cain grinned, "Well, that's a bit of luck." DG looked relieved before returning his grin.

"A relative?" Betsy asked.

"My son."

Eyebrows rose over brown eyes, but Betsy didn't any anything as they reached the headquarters tent. Voices carried through the canvas. Jeb sounded like he was barely keeping his temper. "Lord Ambassador, I don't have the authority to assent, and even if I did, I do not like the potential consequences it could have on my mission here."

"Captain, all the Land of Ev requires from you is contact with your superiors, who would be able to give the assurances you are unable to provide. It would be a shame for the long alliance between the O.Z. and Ev to end over a simple misunderstanding of territorial boundaries."

DG made a face like she had swallowed something rotten. "That's Lord Langwidere," she said.

"So you had the misfortune too." Malachite smiled. "Shall we rescue Lord Wyatt's son?"

Carroll gasped as he observed Cain's clothing style and connected it with the title. Cain grabbed his shoulder and turned him back to the flaps. "Tell them we're here, Corporal."

He stumbled but recovered as he stepped inside the tent. "Excuse me, Captain, but the delegation of the Nome King wants to see you."

"And you brought them right into your camp!" Lord Langwidere yelped.

Malachite entered the tent on the Corporal's heels. "Is there any reason he shouldn't, considering Mount Cove is part of the Dominions of the Nome King?"

Langwidere's fat, wrinkled face reddened in splotches. "Malachite Granite, what kind of stunt." His oily voice strangled when Kaliko entered the tent.

Jeb's pinched, worried expression broke into a grin. "DAD!" Heedless of military protocol, he crossed the tent of stools and flung his arms around Cain.

Cain returned the enthusiastic hug. "We're fine, son, just fine. Sorry we worried you."

Jeb pulled back, searching Cain's face to make sure his father wasn't lying. The young man turned to DG with an equally wide grin as he wrapped his arms around her. "This adventure's been good for you, DG. You're practically glowing."

Betsy made a strangled noise that sounded like contained laughter. Langwidere's strangled noise sounded more judgmental. Jeb sprang back from DG, which left her free to glare at the Ambassador. "Yes, Lord Langwidere, the common shows through enough that I hug friends and family when I see them, no matter what the circumstances."

Langwidere's blue eyes widened. "Your Highness, I would never presume to slight your heritage-"

"Stow it," DG snapped. "And I suggest the next time you want to sneer at the hosts of a ball, check the potted plant behind you for princesses hiding from pompous assholes like you."

"With guests like that, I can see why you don't like balls." Betsy's hand closed around her sword hilt. Langwidere shut his mouth with a snap.

"Jeb, what has he been pestering you to do?" DG asked.

"To let Ev move in since we ran the slavers out."

DG smirked at Langwidere. "That's not going to happen. The treaty the O.Z. has with King Kaliko recognizes his sovereignty over his territory, including Mount Cove."

"Treaty with King Kaliko!"

"Right, introductions," Malachite clapped his hands. "Your Majesty, this is Lord Langwidere, Ambassador for the Land of Ev. Ambassador, Kaliko the Painite, Nome King and Monarch of the Archipelago." Langwidere blinked at both the human and the tall gnome. "There has been a dynasty change."

"We hope to develop an alliance with the Land of Ev like we have with the Outer Zone," Kaliko said.

"Does your mother know about this?" Langwidere turned to DG.

Whatever demure wallflower the Ambassador had met at a ball was gone. The woman Cain had first met, the one he had tried to leave behind until she lashed back, the one who had never stopped no matter what she learned, faced Langwidere now. Her power pulsed with the fire in her eyes. "What are you trying to imply, Lord Langwidere? That I cannot be trusted with the welfare of my realm? After I helped save it and the whole world from eternal darkness?" He gaped like a fish, opening and closing his mouth. DG waved her hand, and he and his stool moved across the tent next to the door. "Steward Granite has messages for the King of Ev. Take them to him and never assume upon the friendship you have with the House of Gale or the Outer Zone when dealing with me."

"This is outrageous!" He lurched off the stool. "The Land of Ev will never acknowledge a Nome King!"

Betsy grabbed the man's thick neck. "With no respect, Lord Ambassador, that's not your call to make. And you don't want to be the reason I return to Evna."

"Are you threatening me, woman!"

She smiled at Malachite. "I told you dressing up would ruin my effectiveness."

"But we wanted to make a good impression." He shook his head with a tsk. "Lord Langwidere, meet my wife, Captain Blood-rage Bobbins."

Langwidere twisted to look at Betsy, who hadn't released him. "Blood-rage? Sacker of Evna?"

"And the Commandant of the Island Navy," Malachite continued. "Now come get your messages." They escorted the Ambassador out.

Jeb leaned closer to Cain. "That's really the Nome King?"

Cain nodded and pulled him forward. "King Kaliko, I would like to present my son, Captain Jeb Cain."

Kaliko nodded as Jeb bowed. "We are pleased to meet other Topsiders with your same qualities, Lord Wyatt. Greetings, Captain Cain."

"And this is King Inge Spencer of Pingaree."

Jeb bowed again. "Greetings, Majesties." His wide eyes turned to his father. "Lord Wyatt?"

DG giggled as she sank into a seat. "Your father got a promotion, Jeb."

"So I see." Jeb smirked. "You clean up good, Dad."

Cain matched it. "Enjoy the teasing. I made sure it's an inherited title."

"DG!" Spencer's shout shoved their attention to her. Stone blocks shot up from the ground, surrounding her and turning her stool into an armchair in time to catch her toppling body.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Now that I have given you the answer to the Other Side lingo question, I hand over a new mystery as to what happened to DG? Supply your own dramatic music.

For those readers who haven't followed the links on my profile page for other goodies connected to this story and haven't read their L. Frank Baum, Betsy Bobbins and Hank the Mule are characters from _Tik-Tok of Oz_. I made a few adjustments when I shifted them into the _Tin Man_ universe.

Welcome new reviewer bluestofbirds! CinephileSandra reviewed last chapter first. 2angelwings, daughterofthe1king, Katieg08, and luckywynner86 we are that much closer to the reunions you are looking forward to.

Now something else. I got cheesed off by another writer last night because you don't withhold an ending of a story because you don't like your review count. It's unprofessional (and don't start with "we write fanfiction for fun" argument; I have a long history of calling that BS). So yes, in a few author's notes I whined over lack of reviews, but I would NEVER not post the rest of the story. Readers may never get a sequel, but they will always get a "the end."

And I can't ever appreciate the readers who have stuck with this story through every chapter enough. You guys are the reason I run to the computer on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I hope the last chapters give you the payoff you deserve. - KLCtheBookWorm


	40. Chapter 40

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Forty**

Cain was next to DG before anyone blinked, holding her so she didn't fall forward. He rubbed her white face. Jeb shouted, "Corporal, go get the alchemist! Or any other healers!"

"Water, Jeb," Cain said. His son plunged out of the tent himself. Sprite crept to DG's free side.

"You're supposed to be on the ship," Spencer told her.

"Shaman said must travel road with Cains." The Viewer child's hand clasped DG's arm. "Did much too fast."

"Is she ill?" Kaliko stepped closer.

"Not ill," Sprite said. "Body changing for baby."

"Secret, Sprite!" Cain glanced at the tent door. Jeb was coming through with a canteen, but it didn't appear he had heard anything. Cain wanted to break that news to Jeb in private.

DG groaned as her eyelids fluttered. "What the hell?"

"You fainted." Cain held the water canteen for her.

"Should have ate," Sprite added.

DG swallowed. "I didn't feel like eating."

"You skipped breakfast?" Cain frowned.

"Thanks a lot, now you got me in trouble." DG's sarcasm relieved Cain.

"Does not sound like healing needed, Captain Cain." Cain looked toward the familiar voice. It was the Viewer who had healed them for the slavers. Her wrinkled face grinned. "You brought our salvation. What is wrong?"

"She didn't eat and fainted." Cain answered as the now-collarless Viewer took DG's hands.

"I didn't feel like eating. It's not like I've never skipped a meal before." DG's skin returned to its normal color.

The Viewer nodded and smiled. "Must ebb magic away slowly when flares. Take nap and be hungry for last meal of day." She released DG's hands and turned to the side Sprite had disappeared from. "Come out, little one."

Sprite peeked around the stone chair. The older Viewer's eyes widened and she keened as she fell to her knees. Sprite crashed into her. Her outstretched arms wrapped around the child. "Child of my child lost no more." She rocked her granddaughter. "Lost no more."

"So that's why she wouldn't leave with the other freed slaves." Jeb turned to Carroll. "Corporal, get a tent ready for the Princess." Carroll saluted and headed out, passing a dark-haired young woman on her way in. "Sorry to drag you out of the infirmary, Miriam," Jeb said.

Cain recognized her from Jeb's resistance group who had taken charge of the wounded. He didn't know she had finished training as an alchemist. Miriam waved off the false alarm. "Honorea hasn't been wrong on a diagnosis yet. And I don't mind the help."

Jeb shook his head. "Not quite how I saw our reunion going."

DG snorted in a very unprincess-like manner. "Like we do anything according to plan. I'm never going to plan anything again. I'll just say what I want to happen and then try my best." She nodded. "Decisive mission statements and other people who Murphy likes can do the planning."

Spencer glanced at Dani on his shoulder but she kept her beak shut. "Who's Murphy?" he asked.

"Don't know, but he wrote a philosophy on the Other Side that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. So when it does, you blame Murphy." DG leaned her elbow on the stone armrest. "In fact, he must hate my family and anything they try to call a plan."

Jeb ignored DG to address the Viewers. "We need to find a place for you to reunite with your granddaughter in private." The older Viewer nodded with tears streaming down her face.

Miriam helped them stand. "I'll find a place, Captain. See you at supper."

Cain turned to DG. "And you will eat supper."

"Yes, Lord Wyatt," she answered meekly, alerting his cynicism.

Carroll returned with a salute. "The tent is ready, Captain."

Cain scooped DG in his arms and she squawked like Dani. "I can walk!"

"But you're not going to, Princess."

She huffed, but wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll see everybody at supper."

Carroll locked in all his comments and questions so he wouldn't piss off a superior officer. Cain had learned that expression well during the kid's first month at Scrowtown Base. He ignored it now as Carroll led them through the camp.

Betsy and Malachite stopped them. "What happened?" she demanded.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Side effect to magic and I passed out," DG answered.

Malachite frowned. "I've never had a reaction like that to my magic."

"Langwidere and his entourage are headed back to Ev. Do you want us to leave too?" Betsy asked.

Cain shook his head. "Stay for supper. The Viewers said she'll be better by then."

"I don't understand what you did." Malachite rubbed his stubbled chin. "You didn't access that much power to shove Langwidere across the tent."

Carroll's eyes grew larger and Cain gritted his teeth. He just needed five minutes to tell Jeb first. Betsy grabbed her husband's head and kissed him hard. "You're thinking too loud," she told the stunned man. She turned to Cain and DG with a wink. "We'll go distract their majesties until supper."

"Thank you, Betsy," DG called as they resumed their progress through the camp.

Corporal Carroll held open the flaps of a tent almost as large as the headquarters tent so Cain could carry DG inside. The bed was large enough for both of them, but Cain didn't comment on that as he set her on it. Wordlessly, he knelt and pulled off her flat silver shoes. She sighed and said quietly, "Wyatt, I'm fine."

"Let me take care of you," he murmured, standing and kissing her. His hands moved to the buttons of her tailcoat.

"You do take care of me, but this won't help me sleep. Go talk to Jeb."

He pulled back. "And how am I going to be sure you do what you were told to do if I go talk to Jeb?"

She shrugged off her tailcoat with a yawn and handed it to him. "Post a guard if you want. But I'm going to nap and we need to know why Jeb's here, and you need to tell him what happened. He's been worried."

He draped the tailcoat on a chair and looked back at her stretched out on the bed. He leaned over her for another kiss. "I am posting a guard."

"And I'll take him with me if I need to go to the latrines. Jeb now."

"Okay, sweetheart." He inhaled deeply outside the tent. Carroll focused straight ahead. "Make sure no one disturbs the Princess, Corporal."

"It would be an honor, sir."

Cain found Jeb in the deserted headquarters tent. "A nice simple mission, and now I'm hosting a state dinner for two kings." His son's glare didn't have much heat, but it also said who he blamed for the turn of events.

"One doesn't eat Topsider food and the other has been disguised on board a pirate ship for a cycle. Serve something that tastes like food and it'll be fine."

Jeb shook his head. "Lord Wyatt. After all the fuss and worry, you're not only fine, you got titled too. What kind of crazy luck is that?"

"Wish I knew." His son looked exasperated. "Maybe you should start."

"Three days after you left, Princess Azkadellia found me while she was trying not to panic. She had a vision of a gang of ruffians beating you and thought it was coming from DG. She asked me to find her sister and bring her back to Central City or if DG refused, sit on her long enough for Az to make sure she was okay."

"I don't know what DG wants to do." Cain's lips twitched. "It's better you came from Azkadellia."

"We didn't tell the Queen." Jeb gestured for Cain to follow him through the camp. "It took two days to reach Scrowtown Base. Figured that was the best place to find out where on the border you two could be." He chuckled. "Turns out, the slavers who grabbed you decided that Scrowtown was the perfect spot to turn your supplies into money. But the shopkeepers recognized your gear and marched them to the base." He opened a smaller tent's flap and ushered Cain inside. "They finally told us they crossed the desert and sold you to the slave marketplace here." Cain sat on a folding stool and watched his son root through an army-issue trunk. "Unfortunately, all we could get out of the slave merchants was that you two were sold to a pirate captain, and they had all sailed off. I was about to send for Azkadellia when Ev's Ambassador showed up." Jeb grunted as he pulled two packs and a battered brown fedora out of the trunk.

Cain laughed. "I'll be damned, I didn't think I'd ever see it again." He set the hat on his head and opened his pack. His gun and belts lay on top of his duster. "We would've gotten away if they hadn't left our horses behind."

His son snickered. "Okay, Dad, whatever." He sat on the edge of his bed. "Not that anything in there fits your station."

"Bite your tongue. This is just for when I have to." Cain gestured to his navy blue frock coat and the silk waistcoat. "It won't be that often."

"You're with a princess and you think it's not going to be that often?" Jeb's right eyebrow rose. "You married a princess." Cain inhaled, but Jeb gestured to Cain's hand. "DG's wearing a matching ring."

Cain couldn't read his son's expression. "In a few months, it'll be worse trouble if she isn't married. And she chose me." He knew he sounded defensive, but Jeb had to accept this.

His son stared at him without blinking while silence filled the tent. Then Jeb's head fell back as laughter pealed out of his throat. He looked at his father again, and laughed hard enough to drive tears to his hazel eyes. "I can't believe," Jeb swiped at the tears, "with the Cain curse." His breaths in were lost to the laughter coming out. "After all her denials." He took a deep breath. "What were you thinking?"

Cain hung his head. "If I admit thinking wasn't a factor, will you stop laughing?" He didn't want to share how easy DG made it to not think when her skin pressed against his.

"Sorry." Jeb took another deep breath. "I'm lying; I'm not that sorry." He chuckled. Cain crossed his arms and scowled. "Okay, fancy titles and clothes aside, are you happy with DG? Is she happy with you?"

Cain blinked. "I'm happier than I have any right to be. And DG wants this, us, the baby."

"Then I'm happy for you. Though I'm hurt I didn't get invited to the ceremony."

"She's a princess, I doubt we're going to get away with just one." Cain cleared his throat. "How did you find out about the Cain curse?"

"Mom told me. She didn't want me to blow myself up and leave a girl in trouble." Jeb smirked. "Surprise, I turned out responsible."

"No surprise to me. But I am glad you haven't saddled me with a passel of grandkids yet."

"Like I'm ready for that. So tell me, Father, how did you let a gang of slavers get the drop on you?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Miriam Jason is first introduced in my story "What Memories Can Bring." If you haven't read it, go read it right after you leave a review!

Katieg08 came in first, expressing delight in the Disney reveal that eight other reviewers shared. I think it beats out "Lord Honeybuns." I can only hope the guy talk in this chapter pleases just as much. :)


	41. Chapter 41

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Forty-one**

Cain and Jeb must have talked until it was supper time, and no one dared wake up the Princess. DG had enough time to wash her face, smooth her hair, and shove on her coat and shoes. At least dining with their Archipelago friends and Jeb's troop didn't make her anxious.

Jeb announced their marriage and offered his congratulations during the meal and the soldiers went nuts, ready to party. _Must marry a prince to satisfy the people, yeah right._

They said goodbyes on the grass leading down to the piers. Kaliko had caught onto handshaking. "Take care of yourselves on your journey back."

Spencer hugged both Cain and DG. "Come visit Pingaree as soon as you can."

Dani opened her beak in front of the O.Z. soldiers. "Don't forget the strength you've found. And prove your mother hen wrong, pullet."

Jenkins shook their hands. "You two landlubbers didn't do too badly. Not too bad at all. And I don't have to play midwife again," he muttered.

Betsy shook Cain's hand, but hugged DG. "I wouldn't have them back if not for you." She blinked her brown eyes rapidly. "If you ever need a favor, count on me. We Slippers have to stick together."

Malachite ended the line carrying Treasure on his hip. He shook hands with his free one. "Remember, play dodge ball. Now head for the horizon."

"See you down the road," Cain answered. He wrapped an arm around DG's shoulders and waited until the group was far enough down the dock not to hear. "Dodge ball?"

"Political metaphor. I'll explain later." They watched the _You and What Navy?_ sail out of the harbor, hearing the crew's song on the wind.

Cain pulled DG against his side. "Your sister sent Jeb to rescue us. Do you want to wait somewhere else for her to come to you?"

She took a deep breath. "We have to go back to the Palace for the treaty. But the second it turns nasty, we're out of there."

"You think it's going to be that bad?"

"You're the one who told me to put the marriage certificate on a stick." She smirked at him. "Go work out the travel schedule with Jeb and I'll be in our tent." Cain matched her smirk with darkening blue eyes as he released her.

She knew what that look in his eyes meant. But despite how much fun he got out of removing her clothes himself, she had spent far too long in them today. She crawled naked under the sheets to wait for him.

DG didn't realize she had closed her eyes until warm, chapped lips pressed against hers. "Are you in the mood, my darling girl?" Cain's husky voice whispered close to her ear. "Or do you need more sleep?"

"Not too tired for you." She stretched under the sheet as she felt Cain shift away.

He chuckled. "I'd believe you better if you actually opened your eyes."

She did. He had stripped out of his frockcoat and vest, and a familiar battered brown fedora perched on his head. "Your hat!" She sat up and laughed. "How in the world did Jeb find your hat?"

"You didn't think those slavers who caught us were efficient criminals?" His scarred eyebrow rose.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I haven't wasted any thoughts on them since they sold us." She rubbed his nose with hers. "But I have missed your hat."

"You have?" Cain kissed her, sending a shock wave through her body. "I'll let Jeb tell the story but he recovered your stuff too." He swept her into his lap and kept one arm around her, cradling her to his chest. His free fingers traced designs on her breasts. DG arched into the touch. "No, I don't guess you're too tired," his voice rumbled.

"Never for you." She gasped as his thumb rubbed over her hardening nipple.

"I'll be sure to remind you that you said that after the baby has kept you up all night." His mouth fell on her neck. Her hands rubbed his chest through his white shirt until she pounced on the buttons. His groan vibrated against her skin.

One of her hands slipped into his shirt and toyed with his chest hair while the other clutched his shoulder. She used a smidge of her power to fly his hat to the top of their boxes. Cain's head jerked up to look suspiciously at her. "Don't want it ruined after you just got it back, right?"

"Don't pass out again."

"Not until after you scream." She wiggled, and felt his erection straining against the material. He groaned into her hair, and pushed her back onto the bed. She knelt on it while he blew out the lantern. "Aw, that's not fair."

"You are going to be the death of me, aren't you?" His shirt hit the chair.

"But what a way to go?" DG scooted back as Cain's pants hit the ground.

"That's one way to look at it," he growled as he crawled onto the bed. She pushed him so he knelt and nestled her body against his as they kissed. His strong hands slid down her back while their tongues danced. His arousal pressed long and hard against her stomach. "You're worse than Vapors, sweetheart," he gasped out before latching onto her neck.

Heat pooled between her thighs and she ran her fingernails over his scalp. "You're pretty irresistible yourself, Wyatt." Her teeth nipped his ear. His stubble against her neck heated her up even more. "I love you."

His hands moved down her thighs and separated her legs more as he pulled her higher. She moved her hands to his shoulders. He looked into her eyes as he angled her body to enter her. "Want me to show you how much I love you?"

The tip rubbed against her clit, soliciting a moan from her. "Please, want you, only you." His fingers tightened on her legs. She dragged one of her hands down his chest and stomach to wrap around his penis. He groaned as she stroked. "So ready for you." She guided him inside her.

His arms moved up and hugged her tighter while they knelt joined together. "My darling girl, gods, I'm so lucky to have you. That you even wanted me."

She wrapped her arms around his broad back before nuzzling her husband's neck. "And here I thought I was the lucky one." She clutched him as she moved, moaning with the friction. They were so close together, his abdomen kept a pleasing pressure on her clit.

"My impulsive and headstrong princess." Cain brushed the spot on the small of her back that arched her body. She loved the way his chest slid against her breasts.

"I prefer independent and deliberate," she gasped out.

"Like I said, impulsive and headstrong." He seized her hips, slowing her movements, letting the pressure build inside her. Her head dropped back as it burst with a scream and sent waves of pleasure through her. He cradled her body against his while she recovered. His lips brushed against her cheek. "I love hearing you scream my name." DG kissed him on the lips. "Straighten your legs," he said.

"You got the _Kama Sutra_ in there along with all your Tin Man skills?" She rubbed her nose across his forehead as she unbent her legs one at a time. "It's an Other Side book of sexual positions." Her breathing hitched as the sensation inside her shifted.

"Did your nurture units watch you at all?" He smirked before kissing her again.

"I never owned a copy."

His hands rubbed her back. "I'm laying you down. Tell me if you're uncomfortable." He eased her down so her shoulders and back rested against the mattress. His thighs propped up her ass and hips. He caressed her ribs and stomach as he straightened, still inside her. This position had her spread open to his gaze. And boy was he staring. "You are so beautiful." His hands stroked her thighs, sending tingles through her skin. He pulled out and thrust in with a swivel of his hips.

It jolted a moan from her. The look of lust on Cain's face made the next moan louder as he rocked deeper. She didn't know what to do with her hands, so she cupped her breasts. Cain groaned as he rocked. Between her squeezing hands and his thrusts, she fell over the brink again. Her muscles clenched around him while she cried out and Cain released, shouting her name.

He collapsed on his side next to her. It took a few minutes of heavy breathing before he rolled them to spoon together orientated correctly on the bed.

DG found the sheets and covered them before settling against Cain's chest. "Wyatt?" He grunted. "You did tell that Corporal to stop guarding the tent, right?"

He chuckled. "I did but if he didn't follow orders, he certainly got an earful." He chuckled harder into her hair, "Actually, the whole camp probably got an earful."

The heat on her face had nothing to do with what they had just finished. "Oh my god, everyone's going to talk about us!"

"They're already talking about us. Go to sleep."

"I don't want them sniggering at me! I got my fill of that in court."

Cain propped up on his elbow to look at her. "Sweetheart, you're just married, their favorite princess, and a Savior of the O.Z. Whatever they say won't be to your face and it won't be derogatory."

"You're positive?"

"Yes." He kissed her cheek before settling back. "And if they don't think of it, Carroll and the others from Scrowtown Base will remind them how grumpy I can get."

She stared at the tent wall. "You didn't shoot anyone, did you?"

"Carroll's still breathing, ain't he?" He snorted. "I growled, and handed out clean up duty a lot."

DG sighed. "I could have put up the soundproofing spell."

"We'll promise to use your spell for the rest of the trip."

"And Jeb's not going to say anything?"

"Not unless he wants a spanking to make up for all the ones he missed for eight annuals."

* * *

**Author's Note:** CinephileSandra regained the first reviewer lead last chapter. And this was the last chance for smut before the end. *Sniffles* We're getting very close to the end.

Now I have to go work on paying my bills and then an original story for submission. Enjoy the smut until Thursday!


	42. Chapter 42

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Forty-two**

It took two days to cross the Grasslands. The quickest route to Central City led past Kiamoko and down the Vinkus River and would take a week to cover, while the garrison was a half-day further north. So they had split from the Scrowtown Base volunteers once the group had reached the Great Kells, and made camp at the ruins in the mountain peaks. Many annuals ago, their campground had been a village outside the fortress walls. Some of the stone foundations of houses that had disappeared were visible.

Cain finished caring for his horse and headed to the wagons. DG had pouted about riding back in one, and only agreed after he had pointed out the danger to the baby. "I hope you won't get hung up on me walking or climbing stairs or fixing my own food. I'm pregnant not helpless."

Miriam, the alchemist, sorted through the wagon's contents sitting on the ground. "You just missed the Princess. She pulled out this stuff and went exploring."

"Alone?" Cain asked.

"I needed to get the tent stakes and ropes ready for the soldiers. I don't know if she took anyone with her. Besides, what can hurt her out here?"

_If only she knew._ DG probably didn't have any idea of the history of this place, but she would go poking at everything. He strode off to look for his wife.

No sign of her at the portable kitchen.

No sign of her at the makeshift stable area.

No sign of her at their tent.

She wasn't with Sprite and her grandmother, but the young Viewer had a clue. "Castle." She pointed to the foreboding towers stretching into the sky above the jagged remains of the battlements.

Just where he didn't want her.

He found the dilapidated gate split apart inside the portcullis. The gouge marks in the remains of the iron oak were still visible where the decorative panels had been pried off. Grass and runt trees struggled out of the broken cobblestones covering the steeply pitched courtyard. What was left of the hall wrapped around the courtyard in a U with hardly any space between the long narrow wing and the defensive wall to the west. The remains of east wing and wall had slid inside the courtyard, the result of whatever attack the fortress had suffered. Three of the corner towers stretched to the peaks of the Kells above them. The southeast one had been knocked in half. All buildings stood open to the sky, missing whatever roofs had capped the stone structures. Cain doubted that the internal supports for the buildings had fared any better over the annuals. If she had gone into one of them and something gave way he stopped himself from dashing into the nearest door and looked around first. DG sat on the western battlements.

The stairs outside the southwest tower were relatively free of crumbles. He made as much noise as possible, so not to startle her. She sat in a notch that had in ages past served as an opening for a pot of boiling oil. She had lodged her body into the space, back braced on one side and feet on the other so she wouldn't fall out. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Enjoying the view now that I got the castle to shut up." She patted the stone next to her. "You were right. The Grasslands are a lot like Kansas."

Cain squatted beside her. "And you didn't think you needed to tell me the castle wanted to talk to you?"

She winced. "Sorry, it was distracting. Plus the soldiers seemed weirded out about camping here. I didn't want to add to the ghost stories."

"This place has a lot of bad history. Did they tell you about Kiamoko?"

"Home of the Wicked Witch of the West, one of the witches Grandma Dorothy defeated. I ran across the info." She looked over the camp and the Grasslands beyond as the wind tugged on her black hair. "They've all forgotten Dorothy lived here too."

Cain blinked in surprise. "It's not taught. The Mystic Man told me once when we were traveling through this area. The Royal Library has better records?"

"Kiamoko told me. She was the last one to take care of it." DG faced him again. "It wants me to fix it. I think I convinced it now is not a good time."

"No, jittery soldiers don't appreciate a castle appearing out of no where." He moved closer as he settled for a long sit. "Did Finaqua talk to you?"

DG shook her head. "There's magic here, but it's different. Grandma Dorothy must have loved it here." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I never understood why she'd want to make that statement, taking over the enemy stronghold. She didn't seem the type."

She chuckled. "Not that at all." Her hand waved at the Grasslands. "This is the only place in the O.Z. that looks like Kansas."

Cain felt he deserved a kick in the rear for not recognizing that. Dorothy's legend had become so huge, it was easy to forget that at its heart was a scared little girl, younger than DG or the Consort when they arrived, who couldn't go home. Of course she'd want to be somewhere similar. At least Dorothy had gotten it. No one thought her great-great-great-granddaughter needed the same. "Let's move here."

DG twisted toward him. "Say what?"

"Nobody told you that a married princess gets her own palace to run?"

Her bright blue eyes widened as she shook her head. "I thought I'd have to live with my parents or move to whatever my husband owned. But why here?"

"Central City Palace is the seat of government and home for the current ruler, so that leaves Finaqua and the Northern Palace. But both have such bad memories for you, I thought you'd prefer the fix-it-upper with the Grasslands view."

She blinked before squealing with delight and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her momentum knocked him back on the battlements and she went down with him. Her lips smashed into his as he grunted with surprise. "My Tin Man is so smart and good to me." Her happy smile dazzled him. "And handsome too. I got a great package deal."

"So good to see DG and Cain happy."

They both twisted and saw Raw standing at the head of the battlement stairs. DG rolled off Cain and to her feet and embraced the Viewer with another happy squeal. Cain climbed to his feet. "How is the world did you know to find us here?" he asked. DG lifted the glowing orb from Raw's chest while they hugged. "When am I getting one of those to find you, sweetheart?"

Raw's mouth fell open as he released DG. "Expected you and Cain to become mates. Not expect cub so soon."

DG smirked as she looked at Cain. "You want to tell him, Wyatt? Or should he wait for Jeb's I'm-smarter-than-my-father version?"

Cain grimaced. "Curse that runs in the family."

Raw nodded, looking amused. "Good that Cain waited."

"Waited?" Cain wrapped his arms around DG and pressed her back to his chest. She huffed. "What are you talking about?"

Furball was laughing silently again. "We were too busy hunting for the Emerald for romance," Cain answered. "And afterwards."

"Afterwards doesn't matter," DG said. "But the baby is a secret until after we tell my parents."

"Good plan." Raw nodded. "Come see Kalm. He missed you."

They went back to the camp. Kalm had found Jeb, and was dodging his every step until Raw brought DG and Cain closer. "Princess!" He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hi."

"Hi to you too. Learned anything new since the Harvest Ball?"

"Better at healing. You?"

"I talked to a mountain." They continued while DG chatted about their adventures on the _You and What Navy?_.

"We got a couple of Viewers for you to meet," Cain told Raw.

"Feel them. Hurt, happier now. Thanks to you and DG."

"I don't know if that's taking credit or blame. If we hadn't gone, everything would have stayed the same."

"Same is not always good," Raw pointed out. "I be Papay dinner if things stayed same."

He didn't add where Cain would have been if DG hadn't charged in to challenge a group of Longcoats. "Probably should warn ya, humans took Sprite in when she was five. For the past three annuals, she's been part of a pirate crew."

Raw's nose wrinkled. "Pirates?"

"Highway robbers on ships," DG answered, "but the bunch we were with had some ethics."

"Why DG bring all problems to me? Thought we friends."

"You could come back to Central City with us," she teased.

"No. Cain shoot someone, I have to heal. Not fair."

Kalm giggled while DG stared at Raw. "That better be a joke." Raw remained impassive. "Wyatt, you can't shoot my parents!"

Cain's lips twitched. "It's your showdown, Princess. I'm just guarding your back." They reached the fire pit between their tent and the Viewers'. Sprite's expression was suspicious as she moved the last rock to line the pit.

DG handled introductions. "This is Sprite and her grandmother, Honorea. This is our friend Raw and his son Kalm."

Raw nodded. "Must speak alone with Honorea."

"Okay, we'll stay here with Sprite and Kalm." DG plopped next to the fire pit. Kalm sat beside her, but Cain went into their tent for a folding stool. He had sat on the ground enough today.

Sprite stared after the two adult Viewers. Once Raw and Honorea disappeared behind the tents, she whirled to DG. "Don't want us to stay with you?"

"Hard for Viewers to be with humans for long," Kalm answered.

"I do fine." She scowled at him.

DG held out her arms. "Aw Sprite, come here. We're not getting rid of you." Sprite curled in DG's lap and accepted the hug. "Raw is part of my family. He and Kalm are heroes of the Eclipse, and they understand us humans."

"Grandmother afraid tribe not want us. Thought we'd stay with you." She burrowed against DG's chest.

"You have to give the tribe a chance. They know things to teach you. And you know things to teach them."

"Like what?" She lifted her bushy head.

DG smiled. "Your _Johnny Jump-Up_ dance. I bet they have never seen anything like that."

"And if tribe don't want us?"

"Then you and your grandmother can come live with me and Wyatt." Sprite squeezed DG. "But I think you're worried for nothing."

"What is Johnny Jump-Up dance?" Kalm scratched his head.

"See, you can teach Kalm."

Sprite's grin was a copy of Betsy's as she scrambled off DG's lap. "I teach you." She pulled the taller Kalm to his feet. DG leaned against Cain's legs and helped them by singing the chorus.

Kalm stumbled finding the rhythm of the unfamiliar song. After about fifteen minutes, he at least had the movements of a jig down if not the right speed. DG begged for her voice and took the kids to ask if supper was ready.

Raw returned to the fire pit alone. "Honorea help with supper." He sat with a sigh.

Cain pushed his fedora back. "Are they going with you and Kalm?"

"Yes, tribe will accept. Should not meet Queen and Consort yet."

One of the soldiers dropped off the firewood with a salute, and Cain crouched to make the fire. "I agree. If the Queen does get as upset as we're afraid she will, Sprite will probably fight and fight dirty. More trouble your people don't need."

The Viewer stared at the flickering flame grabbing the kindling. "Need to observe Sprite more. Odd, she is."

"She was being raised by an odd bunch."

Raw shook his head. "Sprite too young to do what Sprite does. Kalm strong, will be best in tribe, but still apprentice now. Will stay apprentice for four annuals. Sprite almost at Master level." He shook his head. "Nothing wrong with Sprite's self."

Cain frowned. "You were expecting something to be? She probably has a few human habits."

"Humans not like Viewers. Stay with humans too long only hurts adults. Drives cubs mad." Cain's scarred eyebrow rose, and Raw gestured before Cain spoke. "Sprite not mad, odd."

"Maybe you should meet the Slipper who was raising her."

"Slipper?"

"Slipped over three annuals ago, but landed in the Nonestic."

Raw purred and tugged on his beard. "Maybe the difference. Viewers not around many Slippers."

"Are you two hungry?" DG called from four tents away. She carried a large platter holding four bowls level with her head. Sprite and Kalm skipped after her. "Otherwise, I'll leave these bowls here."

Raw chuckled as he waved them in. "DG has interesting way to warn."

"That she does." Cain ducked back into the tent for more stools.

Jeb joined their group for the meal. He slid a folding stool under him with his foot. "So did you have a good reason for poking around the ruins, Princess?"

"Kiamoko wants to hire me as its new decorator." The spoon froze in the air before it reached Jeb's mouth. "That's a job on the Other Side. If you have enough money, you can hire someone to make your house look pretty."

"Are you joking?" Jeb asked.

She rolled her eyes. "A place of power talked to me. Which helps you sleep better, Jeb?"

He stirred his stew. "So you get paid for buying furniture for someone else? I will never understand the Other Side."

"And how often do you think she feels that way about the O.Z.?" Cain offered.

DG leaned against him. "Aw, so sweet, standing up for me like that." Cain felt his ears burn. "But Jeb is one of the few who can make comments like that."

"So who else is on that list?"

"You, Raw, Glitch, and Az. And if I'm feeling really generous and haven't been insulted whoever asked about it." He chuckled at her reply.

They told Raw and Kalm about sailing on the _You and What Navy?_ with commentary from Sprite until the Viewer children wound down. Honorea shooed them to their tent for bed, and Jeb left to check the status of the camp. Cain poked at the fire. "Glitch needs to be here too."

"Let's have a reunion camping trip." DG picked up Cain's arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Before cub makes DG miserable," Raw added.

"Hey be nice."

"Pregnancy makes all females miserable."

Cain laughed. "He's got a point. It's a small window after morning sickness and before you need to stay put."

"You're both just jealous 'cause you can't do it." She stuck her tongue out. "But if you're serious about a trip, Azkadellia's the one to watch."

Cain frowned. "Why would she want to ruin our get together?"

"Not ruin, make better," Raw said.

"She would say, 'Why do we have to cook, we can bring someone for that. Why do we have to set up the tents, we can bring someone for that too.'" DG shook her head. "You think this is a lot of people? Az would have a caravan stretched back to Central City."

Raw nodded.

"That bad?" Cain asked.

His wife snuggled against his side. "I'm high maintenance because I attract trouble? Az is high maintenance just because. But Glitch loves her, and it's hard to separate them."

"So a camping trip at Finaqua." Cain's lips twitched. "Where we can camp in the middle of the woods and send your sister back to the palace when she's had enough roughing it."

"You are good at this planning stuff. It must be a gift." She snuck a kiss to his cheek.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Of course we had to see Raw again. And Cain has really good _Tin Man_ universe reasons to move to Kiamoko, which I borrowed unabashedly from Gregory Maguire. But who knows the Baum reason why they're moving west?

Rissy James beat everyone to the first review last chapter. Come on, lurkers, you don't want to be left out as we get closer to the end.


	43. Chapter 43

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Forty-three**

DG had never felt so glad for a wagon to have stopped. Motion sickness had never bothered her before; maybe her nerves combined with the week's worth of jostling to unhinge her stomach. She stared up at the Palace spires. Miriam glanced at her. "If it helps, you two make quite the pair dressed like that."

She glanced at her tan pants and the tailcoat with the silver geometric design woven into the blue fabric. "That's the idea." Her smile fell. "God, I wish this was easier."

"I'm glad I'm an orphan. The fellow only has to worry about impressing the rest of the unit."

"Who all have guns? I'm not sure that makes things easier."

"Easier for who?" Cain stood next to the wagon's seat.

"My hypothetical suitor." Miriam jerked her head. "Now go. The wagon must get off the parade grounds."

Cain's large hands wrapped around DG's hips, in case she lost her footing climbing down, but she didn't. "We finally made it," he said as the wagon wheels rumbled over the cobblestones.

"And why aren't we running for the gate?"

"The paperwork. And your sister."

"Right." She clutched the leather portfolio tighter. "So any ideas how we should go in there?"

Cain looked away with a frown. "We may be needed out here first." He took her arm and guided her around the dismantling caravan.

She heard what he must have been listening for. "Captain Jebidiah Cain, who the hell have you brought back with you!" Glitch's clipped tones carried over the noise the soldiers made. Jeb held his mount's bridle while Glitch continued. "I know all noble houses in the Zone and the surrounding realms, and Lord Platinum is not one of them!" Jeb smirked harder as he saw their approach over Glitch's shoulder. "Wipe that smirk off your face, Captain, and tell me who the hell Lord Platinum is!"

"I'm Lord Platinum," Cain said stopping outside the Advisor's kicking range.

Glitch almost didn't jump as his court manners took control of his surprise. He whirled and his manners must have fled, because his jaw fell open. His head jerked up and down, and his wide, brown eyes took in the battered fedora, the blue and silver tailcoat, tan pants, and the platinum chain of office. But he didn't speak.

Cain chortled. "I knew his expression would be worth it!"

"I think you broke him." DG waved a hand in front of Glitch's face. "Glitch? Are you glitching?"

"Doll?" He focused on DG's face. "DG?" She grinned and he wrapped his thin arms around her in a hug. "Oh, that was a bad one. Wyatt Cain all dressed up and calling himself a lord." He squeezed her tighter. "Glitching hasn't stopped; he's still dressed like that!"

Jeb snickered. DG patted Glitch's back. "You're not glitching. Wyatt is Lord Platinum."

"Oh, okay... wait, 'Wyatt?'" He jerked back and realized she and Cain were dressed alike. "What have you two been up to?"

"Come on, Zipperhead. We should only have to tell it once." Cain hitched his thumbs into his belt.

Glitch opened his mouth to protest, but closed it with a sharp nod. "You're right. I'll never hear the end of it from Azkadee. But, Doll, before I forget or somebody springs another surprise," he paused to glare at Jeb, "Prince Aedan is still here."

"What? Why? The message on the marriage contract not blunt enough?" DG closed her eyes against the sudden roll in her stomach. "Or did Aurissau kick his ass out and didn't tell us?"

Glitch licked his lips. "I don't think the Queen showed Prince Aedan your message, but I know she has promised that you will be more receptive to his courtship once you got over this rebellious exhibitionism."

"'Rebellious exhibitionism'?" _So this is what glitching feels like_, DG rubbed her temples. "I need a travel storm to get Dr. Phil." She turned to Cain's impassive face. "This wasn't part of my mission statement."

He squeezed her shoulders. "It needs to come from you."

"Otherwise, they'll make you the bad guy, saying you're jealous." She closed her eyes with a sigh after he nodded. "Jeb, do you have two men who will follow your orders no matter if the Queen is yelling at them to desist?"

"I have a couple, why?"

Cain rubbing his thumbs against her collarbone gave her strength to continue. "Because I need you to arrest Prince Aedan of Aurissau for assaulting me at the Winter Festival."

"He did what!" Jeb and Glitch shouted in unison.

Cain pulled her against his chest. "It's okay. You can tell them."

She squeezed him before twisting in his arms to face Glitch and Jeb. He tried to release her, but she grabbed his hands and held them on her stomach. He left them. "He was drunk and cornered me on one of the balconies. When he got under my skirts, I knocked him off me with my magic, but I didn't have any control over it. Raw grabbed him and kept him from falling to his death. And you should've seen how hard he punched him." She looked up.

Jeb clenched his teeth in a manner she usually saw on a different jaw. "Don't go in without me." He brought his horse with him as he headed toward the Army barracks shouting for people named James and Catyuy.

Glitch's fists were clenched. "DG, you lied to me."

"I'm sorry, Glitch, but I didn't want to wreck the treaty that I thought was real. And he threatened Cain, and I didn't want him gunning for you. And I'm so sorry." She blinked, keeping the tears at bay. She couldn't face her parents red-nosed from crying.

He rested a hand on top of hers and Cain's. "It's all right, DG. I should have seen that something was wrong then." His fingers squeezed hers as his attention went to Cain. "But I'm not getting left out of Aedan's dancing lesson, and don't pretend you aren't making an appointment right now, Tin Man."

"Wouldn't dream of going dancing without you, Glitch," Cain answered.

Jeb headed their way with two soldiers, so DG let go of Cain's hands and took his arm at the elbow, and Glitch led them through the Palace, sweeping past the guards and servants, until they reached the parlor between the throne room and the Queen's offices. It was where important people were entertained less formally and the seats were more cushioned than the throne. DG pressed her lips together. She wasn't admitting to actually sitting on that piece of furniture ever.

"Dorothy Gale!" The Queen didn't stand, but pressed her hand to her chest and blinked rapidly. "It is about time you returned home."

"DG!" Ahamo did stand, but his steps toward her were arrested by Azkadellia barreling past him and throwing her arms around her sister.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," her sister whispered into DG's ear, before straightening and holding DG at arm's length. "By the gods, what are you wearing?"

"Azkadellia, let Dorothy Gale acknowledge everyone." The Queen's apprehensive voice sent DG's stomach rolling again. Azkadellia rolled her eyes while she squeezed DG's shoulders, but she stepped to Glitch's side.

Prince Aedan headed toward her, his thick lips turned up in a smile that didn't reach his green eyes. DG clutched Cain's arm, fighting to keep her stomach in line with the plan. "I am so delighted to see you again, your Highness. There have been many anxious days since your departure, wondering what had become of you."

DG found her voice. "Captain Cain." It sounded pathetic to her ears, but Jeb stepped up to her left. "That's the man who assaulted me at the Winter Festival. Raw is my witness."

"Assaulted!" Ahamo's expression darkened as the blood drained from Aedan's face. Glitch stopped Azkadellia's move toward the foreign prince. The Queen's jaw dropped before she stammered that it must be a mistake.

Jeb and his soldiers ignored all the hubbub and flanked Aedan. "Prince Aedan of Aurissau, you're to come with us now."

"Keep your hands off me!" he snarled, but that didn't keep the soldiers from grabbing his arms. "Do you have any idea what I could do to you?"

"Do you have an iron suit?" Jeb kept his voice pleasant, despite the dangerous cold glint in his hazel eyes.

"A what?"

"You got nothing then. Plus you hurt our Princess and a Savior of the O.Z. I'm the least of your worries now."

Cain moved DG away from the door as they dragged Aedan out. Ahamo and Azkadellia were both bearing down on her, and the Queen stood. The soldiers were gone, and the yelling was fading. DG slapped her hands over her mouth, but no, her stomach wasn't listening. She bolted to the parlor's powder room, reaching the toilet before the vomit reached her mouth. She thought the pathetic sounds of someone retching would either shut the people in the outer room up or drown out their voices. No such luck.

"DG, I'm going to kill him," Azkadellia seethed. "No, killing is too fast. We'll get some of those zapping prods. Are you ill?"

"Dorothy Gale, what under the stars possessed you to arrest a foreign dignitary? There are proper channels to deal with incidents. Ambrose, why did you let her do this? How are we ever going to explain it to Aurissau?"

"Your Majesty, you did not see the state he put your daughter in."

"Somebody do something useful and send for the Royal Alchemist!" Ahamo insisted.

Azkadellia's hands soothed DG's hair and touched her temple. "No fever. DG, what's wrong? Mr. Cain, what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing that the Royal Alchemist can help with. Excuse me, Princess." Cain's hands brought a cool washcloth to DG's face. "Make her some ginger tea. That'll settle her stomach."

"Are you sure?"

DG straightened, wiped her face, and then twisted to look at Cain, crouching next to her. "Are you sure?" she echoed Azkadellia.

"Always helped Adora." He cocked his scarred eyebrow to her hard stare. "It's been a cycle since we left Central City."

He was way better at keeping track of time than she was. She struggled to remember biology lessons that she's never paid much attention to. Morning sickness usually started in the second month. His lips twitched when he saw understanding on her face. "I want to rinse out my mouth. Then I'll try the tea," she said.

He helped DG to the sink, and she conjured up a glass for the water. Azkadellia watched with puzzled eyes but stepped back into the parlor. Too bad the idea to give her space hadn't dawned on her parents yet. "Goddamnit, what the hell did Aedan do to you that makes you puke just looking at him!" Ahamo's voice echoed off the tiled walls. "Where the hell is the Royal Alchemist?"

"Yes, Ambrose, get the Royal Alchemist. She must have picked up some illness in the wilds." The Queen's voice didn't echo as loudly, but the idea of seeing that man again made DG's hand tighten around the now empty glass. Cain pried it loose before it broke.

"Will you all just shut up!" She gripped the edge of the porcelain sink as she turned to the doorway. "I'm not sick, I'm pregnant!" She pushed out past her wide-eyed parents. "Where's the tea?"

Azkadellia's dark brown eyes were just as wide as Ahamo and the Queen's, but she passed the delicate china cup to DG without sloshing the contents. "Lots of sugar already." Her eyes then darted between Cain and DG, but she didn't say anything else.

Confident that her sister wasn't going to yell at her too, DG turned to Glitch. "I do not want to see the Royal Alchemist. I want medical staff who understands what patient-doctor confidentiality is. You bring me that asshole and I will do something nasty to him."

There was a few second of silence before Glitch asked Ahamo, "What is patient doctor confidentiality?"

"PREGNANT!" The Queen's skirts swished as she stood in front of DG. "Dorothy Gale, how could you be so irresponsible? I made it perfectly clear what the realm expects of you, and you continued with your reckless behavior!"

Okay, the Queen wanted to pretend DG didn't exist. DG was her angel she sent to the Other Side, and Dorothy Gale was the mess returned to her. Two could play that game. DG sipped her tea and sat down on a plump sofa. That made Glitch's eyes bug. You weren't supposed to sit before the Queen.

Ahamo ran his hand through his disheveled blond hair. His face looked haggard, figuring out what to address first. He decided to go in order. "Doctors don't gossip about their patients on the Other Side, Ambrose." He crouched eye level with DG. "You're pregnant."

"I've had three different confirmations and didn't even have to buy a pregnancy test." She set the teacup on a delicate end table. "So a baby is on the way."

He chewed on his bottom lip, his blue eyes troubled. "But is it wanted?"

DG blinked and felt Cain hovering over her, standing behind the couch. "It's a miracle, not a mistake." She smiled.

Ahamo grinned. "I'm going to be a grandfather!" He whooped as he caught the Queen's hands, and spun her. "Our baby girl is having a baby, Galinda!"

"She can't!" The Queen pulled free. "How did this happen?"

"You had two daughters," DG answered, since she didn't call her _Dorothy Gale_. "Do I need to teach you where babies come from?"

Lavender eyes flashed. "That's not what I mean and you know it! You cannot have a baby out of wedlock. It will never be accepted in line for the throne."

"Why does it matter if I'm married?" She doubted anyone was in the mood to answer one of her 'why does the Outer Zone do things this way' questions, but the attitude was making her snarky. Both she and Cain wore their wedding bands. If they wanted to be that unobservant, oh well. "Seriously, I can understand in a patriarchy where the man has to make sure his heir is his, but our crown is passed along matriarchal lines and it's obvious when a woman has a baby that it's hers."

The Queen blinked. Ahamo bit his lips to keep from laughing. So Glitch jumped in. "Tradition mostly. Setting a good example for the rest of the populace."

The Queen recovered first. "You just arrested your only eligible suitor. Ambrose, bring him back. We must apologize for this alliance to go through."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry readers, I'm between tasks at the paying job and don't have time to be pithy or tease for reviews. WitchWeaver was the first reviewer last chapter, and since I'm getting this up so late I have no idea who will get it for this one.


	44. Chapter 44

**Tin Man: Pirates of the Nonestic**  
**Chapter Forty-four**

DG felt Cain grip the sofa back. He didn't need to do anything else; everyone else stared at the Queen like she had turned into a mobat. Azkadellia found her tongue first. "Mother, the Outer Zone doesn't need Aurissau. The only thing they can give us in an alliance is Prince Aedan, and we don't want him!"

"You have the luxury of choice, Azkadellia. Dorothy Gale has given herself a timetable."

Ahamo shifted into the Seeker of the Realm of the Unwanted. "I don't care what alliance is on the table. That crowned scumbag hurt my daughter and he'll be lucky to cross the border intact."

"This is politics, darling. Alliances are fragile things. You must forgive little incidents."

"Little incidents?" DG's voice had gone as cold as that night seared into her memory. "He came out to the balcony sloshed, wondering why I hadn't had sex with him, since the court rumor mill had me fucking Wyatt and Glitch while we were running for your little scavenger hunt. He slapped me, tore my gown, threw me over the railing so I thought I would fall to my death, and tore my panties off before threatening everyone I care about. That's what set my magic off to get him away from me. That's your little incident, an aborted rape attempt." She spat that last sentence out and was rewarded with her mother's recoil. "I don't need your alliance, I made a better one."

That got Glitch's attention. "With who, DG?"

"The Nome King."

Three combined voices shouting "What!" shook the room.

Ahamo blinked. "I thought he was an immortal enemy of the O.Z.?"

"Roquat was." DG opened the leather portfolio. "Kaliko isn't. Worked out trading details and for the gnomes to help us with mining and building projects. We acknowledge their sovereignty over the Archipelago and Mount Cove, which should make the other countries fall in line." Glitch snatched the papers out of her hands and started skimming through them. "Ev already knows about it."

"How does Ev already know?" Azkadellia looked at the pages over Glitch's shoulder.

"We ran into Lord Langwidere when we met with Jeb's troop. They wanted to take over Mount Cove and we had to stop that."

"You see your duty with that, but you refuse to marry Prince Aedan," the Queen fumed. "Dorothy Gale, you cannot keep the baby if you refuse to get married."

Azkadellia giggled. "I wish I could have seen Langwidere's face. Ev has always counted on us to side with them against the Nome King with our treaties and marriage alliances."

DG smirked. "Oh, he was barely holding back his fit. But it's time for our politics to catch up to the Other Side. You can make a treaty that both sides agree on without selling your kids into marriage. I got an alliance with the Dominions of the Nome King without screwing anyone."

Cain spoke with humor tinting his voice. "No, you only helped overthrow a tyrant and smash a few islands together."

"You're the one who threw the egg down his gullet. I'm so teaching you baseball. You're a natural pitcher." She grinned up at him before looking back at Glitch and Az. "Roquat was on a rampage and Wyatt killed him, sparing us all from genocide. Gnome Mountain chose Kaliko to be the King, and he made Wyatt Lord Platinum! The gnomes have never had any nobility before and they made Wyatt Cain their first." She couldn't help beaming over that development. "He even got his own island."

"We have to decide Dorothy Gale's future, not discuss what she has been doing the last cycle."

DG moved to the next point she wanted to cover. "I didn't put a note in there about it, Glitch, but I want Kiamoko."

"To live in?" He tore his brown eyes from the treaty. "The place is a wreck."

"Dorothy Gale, are you listening to me?"

"We passed it and I think I can fix it like I did Finaqua. And what I can't do with magic, hard work can handle. I'm not afraid of doing renovation work."

"We have to make decisions about the baby, Dorothy Gale! And you cannot move out until you are married!"

Ahamo changed his laugh into a passable cough. "DG?"

"Yes?" She blinked innocently at him.

"I think your mother has something to say to you," Ahamo said.

"Really? I thought she was talking to someone else." Cain snorted behind her. "What is it, Mother?"

Other than the Queen's narrowed eyes, the only thing that gave her temper away was the bright red flush to her cheeks. "You are marrying Prince Aedan to give your daughter proper standing!"

DG's anger rose. "Will you stop pushing Prince Aedan down my throat?"

"There is no one else! I vetted all the eligible bachelors in the O.Z. and allied realms. And judging by your previous experience on the Other Side, whoever the father is must be completely unsuitable as a potential consort to the crown. Prince Aedan is all that is left!"

DG surged to her feet, keeping her magic leashed, instead of using her anger. "What does the bastard have to do to prove he is not a nice guy, eat my baby? Since trying to rape me isn't enough!"

"By your own admission, he was drunk. And you should have considered that before you opened your legs one more time." The Queen whirled to the bell pull on the wall. The bell froze with a blue flash.

DG turned to Ahamo. "Yeah, that's the way to set an example. Make the princess a bigamist with a rapist."

The Queen jerked around from the nonfunctional bell pull. "This is for your own good, Dorothy Gale! Now fix this bell so I can fix your life!"

"Galinda," Ahamo said.

"And you're no help at all!" Tears filled the lavender eyes. "You are perfectly happy to see her ruin her potential and the realm because the people will side with their precious Savior no matter that she is only an irresponsible child!"

DG pointed at the bell pull rope and it severed at the ceiling. The braided silk cord as thick as an arm hit the Queen once as it fell to the floor. "Don't hold back, Mother." Her voice was as unemotional as she could make it. "Please, I want to know what mistakes not to make with my child."

"All I have done is try to keep you safe and you have fought me over everything!"

"You did not want me safe. You wanted a little tiktok princess who would follow orders! You don't care about how I feel or what I want. And you're scared shitless I will take the throne out from under you, so you jerked away all my friends, my support, so no one would plant the idea in my head."

The Queen stepped forward. "Your family is the only support you need!"

Cain moved to DG's side. "The family who didn't do anything to gain her trust so she would tell you she was attacked? The family who manipulated her schedule and servants so she couldn't make any personal decisions about her life? The family who never told her she would never be abandoned again and that getting married didn't mean she was being banished?" His nostrils flared. "What support did you ever offer your daughter?"

"This is none of your concern, Mr. Cain!"

Azkadellia inserted herself between the Queen and DG and Cain. "You got married!" She waved the wedding certificate.

"Yes Az, I married the father of my child."

"What?" The Queen snatched the wedding certificate from Azkadellia. Her lavender eyes narrowed as she focused on Cain. "How dare you!"

"DG wanted me. Your opinion wasn't necessary, your Majesty," he said.

"My opinion!"

"Opinion," DG repeated. "Wyatt Cain is not good enough for me. But I'm not good enough for you. So we're going to be not good enough but happy together."

"You married without my permission." The Queen's chin jutted higher. "I will not recognize this union as valid."

DG clenched her fists. "We'll just move to where it is recognized!"

"The Queen's decree is law in the Outer Zone."

"We'll move to Dominions of the Nome King, then."

And Ahamo said at the same time, "They can go to the Other Side."

DG blinked. Ahamo radiated the Seeker vibe again, but toward the Queen. She looked at Cain. "I didn't think of that one. Guess you have the tie breaking vote, Lord Wyatt?"

"Let's go to the Isle of Patrippaxy. I know you had your heart set on Kiamoko and you miss Kansas, but it'll be easier for visitors to get there."

"I'll get over it, especially if you let me introduce Daiquiris to the Archipelago. I promise not to have any until after the baby is born."

"We'll have to discuss that. Now we better get our things before the servants mistakenly unpack them." Cain guided her around the parlor's seating.

"You are going to abandon us, Dorothy Gale?" The pain in the Queen's voice made DG turn before they opened the door. "Leave the realm never to return?"

"What choice are you giving me, Mother? And how can I trust your options when you've done nothing but lie and order me around?"

"I had to protect." The Queen shook her head as the words escaped her.

"Protect me? Or yourself? Everything I've experienced has been shoving DG the embarrassment as far away as possible." The Queen shook her head. DG tightened her grip on Cain. "You know what, I'm through. Why the hell you had me raised the way I was in Kansas is beyond me when you clearly despise the result. But for the last time, I have always been DG; your memory wipe didn't erase that. I'm so sorry I didn't remain seven, but time marches on."

The Queen turned to Ahamo as her tears spilled. "You're letting our daughter leave us? Encouraging her to go?"

"When it is in her best interest to get away from you, yes, she has my blessing and encouragement."

"How could you think that? I gave her second life; I love her! She would have had only the best on the Other Side, only you decided having her raised a peasant was better."

"It was good enough for me, Galinda. And I was good enough for you."

"You tried to fit in!"

Ahamo bristled. "You never gave DG a chance to fit in. You acted like every idea she had was going to destroy the Zone until she proved it would work and then you yanked it away for someone else to manage. You took her friends away, denied that she should even teach the kitchen staff how to make foods she missed from the Other Side, wouldn't even allow her to dress like she wanted, and shoved an asshole she didn't want down her throat. I'm not surprised DG ran away; I'm surprised she lasted a year."

"Aedan would have made things easier for her with the court! You don't think I haven't noticed how they treat my daughter? With him at her side, they wouldn't dare snicker at her. What can the Tin Man do, glower them into submission?"

"Aedan wasn't DG's choice!" Ahamo threw up his hands. "What the hell is wrong with you? The promises we made when they were born; do you even remember those? How they would be free to make the choices in love without the political rigmarole we had to go through?"

"Ahamo, she needs someone to explain the O.Z. to her."

"Why do you think he hasn't? DG trusts him, more than she trusts us, her own parents. And Wyatt Cain is a noble man and has been recognized for that; something DG and I told you to do after the Eclipse." He wrapped his arms around his wife. "Trust our daughter, Galinda."

She blotted her face on Ahamo's vest before turning to Cain and DG. "Please don't leave. Not like this."

"I'm not staying where the man I love is not welcome and I'm miserable." DG didn't move.

The Queen stepped forward and held out her arms. "Give me a chance to make it right, Dor DG. Give me a chance to honor you with the wedding you deserve."

DG inhaled. "I have my conditions. We are moving to Kiamoko, and I will interact with court on my terms. You get a dress for the balls we attend and I'll never hear another word about my wardrobe. Reparations will be made to the Viewer community today for how you insulted them for Aedan's benefit. And you can have the spectacle wedding, but who Wyatt and I put on the guest list stays on it no matter how you feel about it or think other people will feel about it."

"Yes, of course. And I wouldn't dream of keeping your Viewer friend from it when you would want him there."

DG smirked. "That's true." She wrapped her mother in a hug. "It will be okay, Mother."

The Queen nodded. "Now, you two must be exhausted after all your traveling. Go settle in and you can tell us about your adventure at supper."

They managed to escape without more tears. "Are you okay?" DG asked Cain. "I didn't expect her to tear into you like that."

"I did." He squeezed her arm as they headed to the stairs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm a little awed all that managed to come out without the help of a licensed psychiatrist."

"Speaking of admitting things." His lips twitched. "You want to invite the pirates to the ceremony."

He was trying not to smirk, so she grinned. "Hey, we Slippers have to stick together."

**The End**

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Author's Note:** I'm so glad you readers stuck through what started off in the darkest areas I have been taken with a story to date to get to this ending. I hope you found it as satisfying as I did. Purplehino gets the reward for being first reviewer in last chapter, but CinephileSandra, griff-chan, luckywynner86, Rissy James, and daughterofthe1king deserve a special award for reviewing every chapter and helping through the "does anybody love this story" slumps. The Fiction Spider left their first review, just in time for the ending. Thanks to all of you for making this my highest reviewed story. :D

Now sequels. *Deep breath* I have two short stories that are set after _Pirates of the Nonestic_ that I will be posting shortly. And the muse has given me the plot bunny for sequel novel, but we are both torn about it. The muse doesn't know if the interest is there (she's irrational, but she has good ideas), I don't know when I can start on it. I could list my backlog of projects, but I have to leave for the paying job. So I'm just putting this out to you guys: do you want to read any more _Tin Man_ stories from me?


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